The One Left Behind
by VampireQueen21
Summary: Life has gone to hell for Liz Parker, she could have never predicted what happened, now she has no one and sets off on a journey that brings her closer to peace.
1. Prologue

Title: The One Left Behind

Author: Dez/Jezebel Jinx/VampireQueen21

Rating: Mature

Couple: Drifter (Dean/Liz)

XO: Roswell/Supernatural

Set: Roswell: After Departure/AU S3; SPN: Post S1 (when Dean and Sam make their appearance in the story it's after John died but before they knew about the Roadhouse)

Summary: Life has gone to hell for Liz Parker, she could have never predicted what happened, now she has no one and sets off on a journey that brings her closer to peace.

Warning: Secondary character deaths, violence, underage drinking, and a healthy dollop of vulgar language.

Note: Basically I see this story happening in three big chunks with several chapters in each chunk. I already have the entire first chunk planned with basic plot points which will be about 18-24 chapters (just depends on how long it takes to write some of the plot points). Overall the three chunks will be divided like this: First; Liz's various…transitions and events, Second; the Winchester boys enter the picture, Third; the return to Roswell.

Disclaimer: I own nothing. All characters unless otherwise stated belong to people who aren't me.

**Prologue**

_Crashdown Café; late afternoon; July 3_

A sharp ding of the bell rang through her pounding head. "T 5. Order up." Jose cheerfully called. Table number five's food was ready. The waitress nodded her thanks to a cook who wasn't even looking at her because he's focused on the other meals in front of him.

Liz watched the red head pass her sliding the plates in front of the customer. She was off today, in fact she'd been off for an entire month, thank the Gods above, the last three days she had a constant headache. It wasn't getting any better, if anything it got worse. Of course it had to be the dull headache, behind the eyeballs threatening to blow out your brains if you dare cough or sneeze.

Mom made her promise she'd go in to see the doctor that weekend. Reluctantly she agreed if only to keep her off her back for at least another week. Thumb and forefinger squeeze the web of skin between her other thumb and forefinger, clockwise she massaged the area. Pressure points work wonders when over the counter medicine couldn't cut it.

Slowly the pain receded giving her relief if only for a few moments. The second she stopped the mind numbing pain would be back to its goal of splitting her head in half.

From behind her she heard the click clack of high heels on the tiled floor of the restaurant. With every click the heel hammered against her brain. But what followed the click was deemed far worse than the torture she had endured.

"Hey Liz." Pam Troy greeted with all the sincerity of a wet rag. "Why are you sitting here all alone?" She pouted pathetically. "Shouldn't you be out with your friends right now? Oh wait…I forgot. They all left you."

"Pam-" She spoke in a similar tone. "It's so wonderful to see you off your back and on your feet for a change."

"Cute. At least I have offers sweetie. The best offer you've had lately is a free dinner at IHOP." She shot back.

"Is it really called offers when you're the one that has to pay them?" Liz couldn't deny that she was enjoying this back and forth one-liner match between her and Pam. Unwittingly Pam confronting her gave her a brief reprieve from the pain in head-although now she had a pain in her ass.

Instead of coming back with another doozy she clenched her hands around her milkshake container. It didn't explode or cascade down her arm and hand, but it did give Liz a wave of dizziness. Weird.

Liz scrunched her face trying to keep her breakfast down. Her headache was back in full force. Fantastic.

"You're pathetic Liz Parker. Not only did your boyfriend dump you for the new girl who put out, but your best friend left town with all your other friends and they never told you." That would cause hurt, what girl wouldn't be hurt that her best friend skipped town without a phone call? It's amazing what she could hear when sitting in the booth right outside the backroom door.

She pinched the bridge of her nose, breathing in and out slowly so as not to make her rolling stomach decide on summersaults. "I may be pathetic, but one of us is drinking a milkshake right now lying to her friends about it being a protein shake. So unless you want that milkshake to go on your head as opposed to around your waistline I suggest you leave my restaurant."

She didn't catch the shocked stare, didn't watch Pam throw the fatty beverage in the garbage, nor did she see Pam glare at her with a questioning gaze. Sighing she grabbed her soda and left the bustle continuing around her. While it was only 4:30 in the afternoon she went up to her room, locked the door, and curled up in bed. Maybe this last month would all be a nightmare that she could leave behind. How much worse could her life get?

TBC


	2. Chapter 1

**Chapter 1**

"Lizzie?"

_A soft loving voice called out to her from far away. _

_A shadow leapt across the ceiling, "Mom?" She knew she was dreaming, from the flowery fabric of the couch and the scent of Pledge, she was in the living room, and from her vantage-point curled up on the floor. _

"Sweetheart?"

_The motherly touch against her back translated to her mind but she couldn't wake up. Mom was calling she had to wake up. _

_Screaming shattered her eardrums, blood sprayed up the wall, it seeped at a snails pace down the wall to the dead body shoved violently under it. "Mommy?"_

With a gasp she shot open her eyes. A sigh escaped as she took in her surroundings. It was a dream, it wasn't real. The reddish brown brick of her bedroom wall became more detailed, the small holes that formed over the seventy years the building had been there were clear and pronounced. Mom sat next to her on her bed rubbing her back gently and staring at her with concern. It was a dream.

"Sweetie? You okay? Another nightmare?" Nancy didn't hide the worry she felt. For the past two or three months Liz had been waking with a jolt. After Maria and her other friends left it only got worse. She'd hear Liz up in her room till the early hours of morning doing God knows what in her room only to sleep all day till dinner.

"Yea, I don't why I keep having them." Liz yawned. It'd be another 'stay up till seven in the morning' night. She didn't know why she'd been having the strange and violent nightmares but she knew what triggered them. Alex's death.

"How about the headaches? Have you called the doctor like I asked?" That was another thing that concerned her. On more than one occasion she'd seen Liz curled up into a ball cradling her head with an arm, pain clearly shown.

Liz shrugged. "Same. And no not yet. I'll do it tomorrow morning before I go to sleep." That'll at least appease Mom.

"If you don't do it tomorrow I'll do it. I'm worried about you." She brushed the stray hairs away from Liz's face. "My beautiful girl." Even with bags under her eyes and crazy bed head she had a beauty about her that couldn't be erased. "Come on, outta bed, its time for dinner." She tapped the tired girl's leg before leaving the room.

As Mom left, Liz knew it was only a matter of time before she called a shrink. Not because she thought she was crazy-she hadn't done anything crazy for a month. But Mom could tell the nightmares were more than once in a while. Knew that if she didn't start talking about it she'd crack up.

Maybe she's already cracking up but her mind hadn't caught up with that realization yet. Anything's possible. With motivation she didn't feel she shoved herself up and off the bed. She left the room not bothering to brush her hair or straighten her clothes-after all who was she trying to impress?

Scrubbing the gross crusty's in the creases of her eyes away she sat at her normal place at the table. Dad squeezed her hand as if saying he'd be there when she was ready to open up. That'd be in the time frame of never. There wasn't anything he could do so why burden him?

Mom put the plate full of chicken on the table, while Dad dug into the deviled eggs. Liz reached for the mashed potatoes; the back and forth hurried eye movements of the parental units went unnoticed. Next she grabbed a piece of chicken and began to eat.

Coughing uncomfortably Dad set down the fork that had been poised to shovel his face full of food, "Uh, Lizzie, your Mom and I have been talking lately…" He said it as if he and Mom had gone months without speaking. Knew for a fact that wasn't true, she could hear them at night before they went to sleep and it was mostly about her. "And since you won't talk to us, which is alright, we think it's time you talk to someone else-a therapist."

Wow, they already were at the shrink stage? She had to pay more attention. "I'm fine you guys. Just had a weird schedule this last month. That's all." No way they'd buy that line of crap. They weren't idiots.

"That's crap and you know it." Jeff pointed her finger at her.

"Jeff!" Exclaimed Nancy.

"No Nancy. I know you've seen her hold her head in pain, the tossing and turning of a nightmare. She is not going to live like this, we're taking her to the doctor and then she's going to talk to Dr. Faye. I've set up the appointments for both." That was news to Mom.

"Dad I'm fine. I don't need a doctor and certainly don't need to talk to some whack job that tells me I have issues because let me tell you I can inform you of that and you won't have to pay me hundreds of dollars." She jabbed her fork into her chicken tearing a shed of flesh off.

"Please, just for once don't argue with me on this. I know you're not fond of doctors, but honey we're worried about you." Jeff pleaded.

Maybe she should talk with a professional, if only to keep Mom and Dad happy and sane. She'd agreed to the physical doctor why not the mental one too? Liz set her fork on the plate. "Okay, if it'll make you feel better I'll go. When's the appointment?" Giving in was easier in the long run.

"Tomorrow afternoon at 3:30, the session is going to run for two hours. Now your doctor appointment to check your headaches out is on July sixth at 4 p.m." Relieved Liz agreed without too much problem.

Nodding she bent back over her food. Tomorrow was going to be so fun. That's right that was her being sarcastic. Sarcasm had become such a blanket of warmth, that she didn't want to shed the protective armor, her attitude she could control and she embraced that power.

She could sit in silence when she went to the shrink but then Mom and Dad would have wasted 'X' amount of dollars. That'd only make her feel guilty-guess talking about her feelings was the only way to go. Great, she grew out of expressing her emotions through words when her friends abandoned her by flying off into space. Like she said, tomorrow was going to be fun.

TBC


	3. Chapter 2

**Chapter 2**

_July 4__th_

Liz glanced at her watch for the fifth time that afternoon, she knew she should be grateful that Dr. Faye agreed to see her on a holiday, but she's not. Not only was she ungrateful she was pissed off that the good doctor was late.

Twenty minutes she'd been waiting but still no sign of Dr. Faye. Ten more minutes she'd wait; ten more but no longer. She had a few more hours of sleep she could catch up on.

At the five-minute mark she finally showed. It didn't matter to Liz that she'd been a few minutes late herself, her annoyance at Faye was clearly pronounced.

"Please don't let the fact that my parents are paying you keep you from being on time." Liz snapped effectively making her anger known, in case there had been doubt in the doc's mind.

"I'll care when you care. You were seven minutes late." She shot back at her calmly, letting the young Parker girl know her sarcasm wouldn't get much of a reaction. "Now come in." She moved aside allowing the angry teen to pass. "Have a seat on the couch I'll be right with you." Faye went from the front door to a corner of the room covered by a large decorated screen.

Music floated up from the corner, a soft melody that would soothe any anger it came across. Another sense came into play, her nose; she smelled the aroma of long used incense. Lavender and a different flower mixed to create a pleasant experience.

"How long have you been a shrink?" Liz didn't bother to change her "shrink" comment. This was what the doc was there to do right? Get her back to who she was before the aliens crash-landed into her quiet, normal life. The "normal" Liz would never call a psychiatrist or therapist a shrink.

"Quite a number of years. Don't worry I'm well equipped to handle anything you throw at me." She spoke with a confidence that Liz envied. She hadn't had much confidence for a while, she may act like she did but instead that pseudo-confidence was not caring. In a way a switch had been turned inside and true confidence gave way to an inability to feel anything including confidence.

"Hmm." Liz grunted. She sat on the couch, crossing her legs one over the other.

Faye sat down across from her in a large comfy leather chair. The kind of chair that invoked thoughts of curling up in one position for hours to watch a fire crackling in the fireplace. While she got comfortable Liz took that time to assess Dr. Faye.

Vibrant red hair was piled messily in a bun but still had a certain professionalism, chopsticks kept the hair in place. Faye had expressive moss green eyes and thin lips turned up in a welcoming but small smile. Her suit didn't look all that expensive, a pair of black slacks with a silk blue top; a matching black jacket lay over her desk chair haphazardly like she couldn't wait to get it off. Along with stylish open toed blue heels and her pale pink painted toenails.

"Listen, I'm not really into talking about my feelings. As a matter of fact I despise it…"

"We don't have to talk about anything you don't want to, these are your two hours to do with what you will. We can sit here in silence if you want." She told her.

That wouldn't work- "Well I wouldn't want this to be a complete waste. Parents paid for it after all." Noticing the shrink didn't have a pad and pen out ready to write down any theories or notes about how fucked up she really was. Probably recording it behind that huge screen or something.

"Why don't we start off with what you're going to do today? Are you going to watch fireworks? Spend the evening with some friends?"

Liz shook her head negatively. "No on hanging with my friends. Don't have any to hang out with anymore. And more than likely watching fireworks from my balcony. I'll be up then anyway, why not?" She forced a tight smile onto her lips. A clear sign that she felt like anything but smiling.

"How's your home life with your family? Get along with your parents? Other relatives?" She leaned back giving the impression of relaxing. She'd go back and address the no friends issue later.

"Yea, most of the time." No kid got along with their parents ever moment of everyday. If they did she'd assume there were a pod-person…no pun intended. Maybe even go so far as being a robot.

It took another hour of revealing not so personal information before Dr. Faye even broached the subject of her wayward friends. "Now you spoke of not being with friends earlier. Why not? Did they go somewhere?"

Liz nodded. "They left, Maria, my best friend, didn't want to be without her boyfriend, Michael. Michael wasn't about to let Isabel and Max go anywhere without him; after all they've been his family. Tess, Max's new girlfriend, is pregnant with Max's child so you know she went too."

"In fact Tess was the reason everyone left, Max's parents wouldn't be thrilled he knocked a girl up at seventeen. Isabel wasn't leaving her brother to handle fatherhood alone. And Kyle grew attached to Tess; Jim, Kyle's Dad had nothing keeping him here so off he went with his son." Liz played with the arm of the couch.

"Now what about your other friend Alex? You mentioned him before but he wasn't brought up in who left."

Again she nodded; she's beginning to feel like a bobble head doll. "Alex died a few months ago. So he didn't get the opportunity to leave with them." Not that she believed that if Alex were alive he'd leave with the others. He'd still have his band, family, and friends; there'd be a lot of reasons to stay on Earth.

"Were you invited along." By the way Liz spoke of the others leaving Faye assumed the answer would be a no.

"No, I knew that Max, Isabel, Tess, and Michael were going but what I didn't count on were the others going." She stared off into space not focusing on much of anything.

"If they had asked would you have gone?"

Her gaze shot up to meet the doctors. Would she have gone with them? Sure she would have felt better if she'd been asked to tag along but would she have? She still loved Max, no matter how much she tried to deny it. Maria would have been there with her-but Tess would be there too. Although that wouldn't have been reason enough, in all actuality the blonde former Queen wasn't that bad. She could have seen them be if not friends at least civil if Max hadn't been in the middle.

"No, I wouldn't." And that's the truth. She'd have said no. Liz paused for a moment waiting for Faye to say something like 'then why was she so upset'. Guess she wasn't one of those kinds of shrinks and she appreciated that. Faye didn't try to talk her out of her anger only helped her to realize that even though she had every right to her emotions that she also wouldn't have gone had they asked.

Sensing that Liz had enough for today she uncrossed her legs and leaned forward. "Liz do you keep a journal? Fill it with your thoughts and feelings?"

"Used to. Haven't written in it for a while." She admitted.

"I'd like you to start writing in it again. Anything and everything you're feeling. At our next appointment if you like we can talk about what you wrote."

"And-what if I don't want to talk about what I wrote?" Liz wondered. The musings she wrote in her journals were personal and private. Whole reason she wrote them down was so she could get those feelings out and not feel the repercussions of telling somebody. Some people tended to get testy when you tell them how you felt about them with no filters.

"Than we won't. These sessions are for you to do with what you will." She soothed.

"Okay. Thanks. When can we meet again?" As much as she'd like to lie about how much this one session had helped so couldn't. Drained, exhausted, and even a little frustration beat at her head but a little weight had been lifted. She's far from "cured" but little baby steps she told herself.

Faye looked into her date book. "I have next week on Tuesday at three, next Friday at four-thirty, and next Saturday at nine in the morning."

"How bout' the Friday one. By then I should be awake." She joked. After Faye gave her a card with her name, number, and the date of their next appointment she left the comfort of her office. Dad wouldn't be by to pick her up for at least another twenty minutes.

Shoving the card into her pocket Liz jogged across the street to the Wolves Den Café. A small local hangout that hardly got any tourists because it wasn't alien themed. The owner's a nice woman who always had a smile for her customers, she catered to the locals and the locals loved it. There were only so many alien restaurants and museums they could take before going crazy.

She ordered a white chocolate mocha with an extra dollop of whipped cream. Sugar heaven. Taking her mocha she got comfortable in a lone chair and table by the window watching the people walking and driving while waiting for Dad's truck. Why he didn't just drive Mom's new Nissan Altima she'd never know. But who was she to fault him for loving his fifteen-year-old truck to the point of obsession. He took care of it, so it ran better than it probably should.

Liz passed a glance by her watch. A little while longer before Dad came and got her. Yawning she fell forward laying her head on her arms. She was so tired, despite drinking half of her caffinated beverage. She'd close her eyes for only a minute. A minute wouldn't kill her. In seconds she was out like a light.

TBC


	4. Chapter 3

**Chapter 3 **

_Scuffling from up above brought her gaze upward. "Dad? Mom? I'm home." Slowly silently she climbed up the stairs. The stairway expanded and contracted, breathing her in trapping her between the brick wall and the…licorice? The red candy took the place of the dark wood railing. _

_Bending over she took a bite-"Mmm, is Willy Wonka behind this?" She knew it was a dream, once she realized it the stairs stopped breathing, the licorice faded and she felt herself flying upward. "No, no, I want to stay._

Jeff left the therapists office; she said Liz left fifteen minutes ago. She must be in the coffeehouse across the street. Waiting for the three cars to pass he crossed, jogging into the door. The smell of freshly brewed coffee and cinnamon buns filled the air sweetly.

The owner, Eclipse Monroe, waved to him before turning back to a customer. Her parents had five children and named them all "Moon" or "Sun" names. Four girls and one boy, the girls were Dawn, Eclipse, Luna, and Moonbeam, Moon for short. While their one boy was named Sunny, with a 'u' instead of an 'o'. Poor kid was teased mercilessly after the guys found out about that. Jeff had been at college when Sunny was in high school but he was good friends with Dawn and she told him about the fights he'd been involved in.

Scanning the coffee shop he found his daughter sleeping soundly, head on the table, eyes fluttering and her coffee gripped tightly in her hand. Smiling at how innocent and angelic she looked when sleeping he made his way over to her. He brushed the hair from her forehead. "Lizzie? Sweetie? Time to wake up."

_Everything changed color, the once bright and inviting back room of the Crashdown changed to a bleak and cold gray. Red liquid flowed down the stairs she stood on bathing her feet in the sticky substance. "Daddy?" She whimpered. She wanted Daddy. _

_More scuffling, she stared at her front door. A loud crash and her Mom screaming snapped her out of her stupor. Not caring what lay beyond that door she ran up the stairs, slipping twice soaking her front with the red fluid and pushed open the door. "Mom?"_

"_Liz run!" She heard her scream but she couldn't see her. _

_Gurgles captured her attention, she followed the blood, so much blood. The sharp metallic taste stuck at the back of her throat and seeped its way into her nasal passages. Nothing but blood smelled like that. "Dad?" She whispered softly. That couldn't be him, it couldn't-no he wasn't-"_

"Sweetheart?" Jeff shook her more firmly.

_Bright flashing lights pounded a new headache home. Blood slid away, evaporating from her dreams_.

Her eyes snapped open. A sight she'd never been so happy to see stood before her. "Dad?" She hoped she wasn't imagining him, standing there, not dying.

"Hey. Tired honey?" Concern evident from his dark eyes.

Liz set her coffee down on the table. "Yea, a little." She picked at the indents of her fingernails on her palms.

Jeff sat in the chair across from her. "How did you like the therapist?" Nancy made him promise he wouldn't ask for specifics about what went on during Liz's session. She was so adamant that he questioned her on it, to which she replied that if he did ask she'd probably clam up more.

"Okay. She's nice. But it's too early to tell right now." Should she tell him she'd already scheduled another appointment with the doctor? "I hope it's all right but I've scheduled to meet with her again." She probably should have spoken to him and Mom before going ahead and making the appointment but she doubted they only wanted her to go for one session.

Hearing her say those words eased some of his concern. Liz liked the therapist enough to want to have another meeting. "Of course honey. For when?"

"I'd have to check the card again but sometime next week." She finished her coffee before she asked Dad if he's ready to go home. With a wave to the owner father and daughter left the establishment.

Silence filled the truck for the next five minutes, until Jeff came up with an idea that he and Nancy had spoke on earlier. "Liz, how would you like to spend some time with Mom and I? There's a movie playing at the drive-in, I think it's your favorite movie too." He knew it was her favorite, had been since she was a little girl.

Immediately her eyes lit up. "Commando?"

"Yep." He's pleased she'd shown an emotion besides sadness. Nothing crushed him more than seeing his little girl hurting.

Anybody who looked at Liz, who even knew Liz, would be surprised that her favorite movie of all-time was the 80's classic _Commando_ with Arnold Schwarzenegger. It wasn't the violence or even the mediocre dialogue that grabbed her attention it was the theme that a parent would do anything for their child. And that always appealed to her.

The drive-in had been shut down a few years previously but the locals-himself included-started such a stink that they re-opened it. Since then the once dying drive-in was thriving. Every night it was open and showing movies and every night the locals and tourists filled it up.

Jeff remembered taking Nancy there on their first date. Nancy lost her virginity to him at that theatre. Liz was even conceived there-as were a few other kids. Their family went to movies there fairly regularly until Liz turned twelve and didn't want to be seen with her parents at a drive-in.

"Afterwards we can go out on your balcony and watch the fireworks." Roswell usually had a brilliant light show every Fourth. One of the reasons why he closed the Crashdown early every July 4th, there weren't enough customers coming in to justify staying open. Most were up at the carnival held in _Alien Amusement Park._

"I'd like that, we haven't gone to the movies for a long time." As they pulled into the driveway behind the café Liz was glad she'd never gone to the drive-in with anyone but her parents. She didn't know if she'd be able to handle the memories of happy times with the others. "Are you sure Mom won't mind? She's not exactly an action fan."

"You aren't either Liz." He reminded her.

"_Commando_ is special though. It is the major exception." She didn't explain further. Dad had heard all her arguments for her love of the action flick over the years. He could recite them verbatim.

"Don't worry. She'll be fine. As long as you're enjoying yourself she'll have fun too." He slung his arm over her shoulders and guided her upstairs. Jeff pushed open the door. "Nancy? We're home."

"Hey Mom." Liz greeted but there was no answer. Strange. "Mom?"

"She probably went out to get dinner." Jeff rationalized. That afternoon Nancy expressed that she felt lazy that day and wouldn't be cooking. He set his keys on the table by the front door.

"Yea maybe." Liz whispered, unsure of what was going on. She'd been having nightmares of calling out to her Mom and Dad only to find their dead bloodied corpses. Oh God what if someone was in the house lying in wait, torturing her?

"Sweetie?" Mom exited the kitchen scrubbing her hands with a towel. "Sorry I didn't hear you two, I was finishing up the dishes before I went out to grab dinner."

Liz let out a breath she didn't know she had been holding. Okay she jumped to conclusions. What was wrong with her? Jumping straight to the dire situation and completely ignoring the rational far more likely scenario. When did she turn into Maria-maybe she was compensating for the fact that her crazy, wacky, jump to conclusions friend wasn't there anymore.

"Liz? You all right?" Nancy tucked a stray brown hair behind Liz's ear. "You look pale."

She forced a 'I'm fine' smile. "No, you just scared me is all. Popping out of the kitchen and everything."

"Is that all?" Not convinced.

She shrugged her shoulders. "Yea Mom. I'm okay."

Jeff eager to get back to happy things kissed Nancy in greeting. "I've talked it over with Liz and she loves the drive-in idea."

"And I'm sure the drive-in playing _Commando_ had nothing to do with it." She teased her.

"Not a bit." Liz came back to the warmth she left behind a few moments ago. Now that she saw Mom was safe and alive she could join in on the teasing once again.

"Sure you won't be embarrassed by your parents taking you to the movies?" Nancy recalled the time Liz stated she didn't want to accompany them to the drive-in. She was too old to be going places with her parents-especially a movie where her classmates could see her. Heaven forbid.

Liz thought about it for a minute. "Well you may have to sneak into the drive-in, dressed all in black, and then find me. Can't let people know I *gasp* enjoy my parents company."

"Very cute." Jeff chuckled. "If you want Nancy I can get the food."

"No it's okay. I can get it."

"No really, I insist." Jeff smiled.

"You sure?"

He nodded. "If we want to eat before tomorrow I better go." He kissed her forehead.

"What is that supposed to mean?" Smiling at her husband's teasing nature.

"Mom when you go pick up dinner you talk to everyone you see. Dad and I would like to eat sometime in the near future." Liz piped up.

"Oh I see how it is. Both of you gang up on me. Well fine." She smirked and headed back to the kitchen while Dad grabbed his keys and headed out the front leaving her there by herself but not feeling the least bit alone.

TBC


	5. Chapter 4

**Chapter 4**

_J__uly 5; Parker Household; 4:45 p.m._

Sinking sunlight crept in through an opening of pale brown curtains of the room. It harshly caressed the young woman sleeping on top of the covers forcing her to consciousness. "Uhh," She turned around to face the other side of her bedroom but at her sudden movement a sharp pain crashed through her mind.

"Wonderful." She gripped her temples between her palms as if that would help. Liz reached over to her nightstand and fumbled for the bottle of Advil. Despite the painful headache she felt...ok. Not good, not bad, just ok. This was the first night...day in weeks that she hadn't had a nightmare.

She may be depressed but that didn't mean she couldn't see the good in waking up nightmare free. Now if she could only get rid of the headaches she'd be set.

Knowing she didn't have a glass of water near she set the bottle of pills on the bed and curled up. Maybe if she tried hard enough she could will her headache away. Groaning she lifted an arm up to her eyes to block out the cheerful sun that was disappearing not as fast as she would have preferred.

Liz lay there in bed with her eyes shut and covered for a few minutes before she gave up on trying to sleep again. Frustrated she grunted and slowly so as not to disturb her head anymore than it already had been got out of bed.

She shuffled to her bathroom, poured water into a Dixie cup and popped three Advil's. It wouldn't take the pain away completely but it'd give her some relief. She downed the rest of the cool tap water and tossed the paper cup away.

Last night had been so fun, that's right she said fun. Mom and Dad, after they ate dinner, took her to the drive-in and they watched _Commando_. They brought Dad's truck and she sat in the middle like she did when she was a little girl. It made her feel special and safe, like nothing bad could ever happen to her and that everything that happened those last two years was all a dream.

During the whole movie she had mouthed every line, she had watched the movie so much growing up her VHS tape had worn out and she finally got the DVD version last year. Mom teased her a bit for knowing every single line but she loved it.

After the movie they went for ice cream, the fireworks wouldn't start until almost 10:30 that night. The had plenty of time to get their dessert and get back to their home in time to see the first colorful explosion.

By the time they got back it was 10:20. They went onto Liz's balcony, Mom and Dad cuddled on one of her lawn chairs while she sprawled out on the lawn chair by the wall, the one she normally wrote in her journal on.

For the next two hours they watched the sky light up continuously. She couldn't help the stray thought that passed through her mind that night. Could her friends see the fireworks too? She doubted it but it was a nice thought all the same.

Yawning Liz brushed her hair only to put it up in a ponytail. Before walking out of the bedroom she pulled her shorts out of her butt, that's the one thing she hated about sleeping in shorts, her underwear and whatever she was wearing found its way to the butt.

Leaving her room she called out. "Mom? Dad?" She didn't expect them to be up there, not with it still being the afternoon and all. They were probably downstairs keeping the employees in line. Her bare feet slapped on the hard wood floor as she made her way to the kitchen.

She opened the fridge door missing the note taped to it and grabbed a container of fruit, reached up to the cabinets and got a bowl and poured a few chunks of fruit into the bowl. When she closed the door she noticed the note. Taking it off the fridge door she read it out loud. "Let's see here, 'Liz, your Mom and I went to run some errands, we'll be back no later than nine tonight, there's some casserole in the fridge...' Mmm, yummy. 'Aaron is downstairs, make sure to do the dishes, we'll be on our cells in you need us, hope you slept ok. Love Dad and Mom'."

Liz tossed the note on the counter and left the kitchen stabbing the fruit with a fork before putting it in her mouth. She sat on the couch and turned on the TV. After channel surfing for five minutes she settled on a repeat of _Moral Court._ The bailiff, Mr. Brown, was a hunky piece of pure man. Now why couldn't there be guys like that in the real world. Right a real world where aliens crash land on Earth leaving behind their hybrid offspring whose strongest power was to destroy a young girl's heart. Did she sound bitter?

On any other day if Mom and Dad had been gone she would have been on the phone to Maria asking if she could come over and save her from her boredom. Now however was a completely different story. She doubted the phone service would reach the Moon let alone Antar.

When Max dropped her off at her house and she kissed him that last time she saw a flash of him and Tess together. It squeezed her heart so hard it hurt. Tess had replaced her in his heart and that didn't sit well with her. Was she so easy to forget? Pretending to sleep with Kyle really did the trick as far as Max was concerned. She knew why in that moment why Future Max chose her instead of someone else, she could break his heart like no one else could.

Even when they tried to make another go of it, it wasn't enough. That betrayal, however fake it was, to Max it was real and broke their connection enough to let someone else into his heart, that person just happened to be Tess.

After she entered her home she called the Deluca's but Sean said Maria and Amy weren't around. The guy she for a brief moment tried to move on with invited her over, while she was tempted...really tempted, she turned him down and said that when Maria showed up to give her a call. Maria never came home.

Amy called her house early that morning in a panic, begging Liz to tell her that Maria was there and she was ok because she never came home that night. Unfortunately she couldn't ease Amy's worry. Maria wasn't there and she told her to call Michael's she might be there. While she knew she was going to face the wrath of Maria for telling her mom she was probably at Michael's if Maria wanted her to cover with Amy she should have called and told her so.

With their group it was just as likely she had been kidnapped because of her connection to Michael and the other alien hybrids. But when Amy said she already tried Michael's and there was no answer Liz got worried. She said she'd call Kyle, maybe he'd seen her. So she hung up with Ms. Deluca and called Kyle, hell she called everyone of their group and nothing, not one answer...except at the Evans place.

Diane and Phillip were in tears. They had found the video message their children left and watched it. While she knew Max, Isabel, Tess, and Michael were gone she hadn't considered Maria, Kyle, and Jim would have taken off too. But as the hours ticked by and no phone call came in she began to consider the possibility that everyone had left and they had excluded her.

Why wouldn't Maria call her and let her know, why would Jim go, why would Kyle go? At first nothing made sense and she truly began to believe that they had all planned on leaving and never once filled her in. Had they been trying to get rid of her for months and she never caught on? She had helped Michael and the others find the piece of information they needed to get home, did she not at least warrant a courtesy call?

But as the days turned to weeks she began to wonder how planned it had really been. Had something happened with Michael to make Maria want to go? Did Tess convince Kyle to go which convinced Jim to go with his son and the girl he began to think of as a daughter? Them leaving her out didn't fit right with the image she had of her friends. Sighing she set the bowl, empty of fruit, down on the coffee table. Nothing made sense anymore.

TBC


	6. Chapter 5

**Chapter 5**

_July 6; Doctor's Office; 5:45 p.m._

Black, thin ink left a trail on the paper, around walls, turning corners only to find a dead end. "Stupid maze." Liz grumbled as she waited in the clean sterile room. Nothing bothered her more than waiting for a doctor. They acted like they didn't own a clock. It had been thirty minutes passed her scheduled appointment before she was sent to a room.

Finishing up the maze in the magazine she tossed it back into the holder. Dad offered to come with her but she told him that she'd rather go alone. After all last thing she wanted was for Mom or Dad to get all worried if her headaches were the sign of something serious. She hoped they were only migraines and she'd have to take a pill and be done with it, but a part of her was scared that it could be a serious illness.

After the first doctor checked her out he sent her to the second floor of the hospital to get some tests done. Once she got there she had to wait another twenty minutes before someone came and retrieved her, she got the tests done then was sent back up to her regular doctor. Would it be wrong if she tortured the doctors after they gave her the results of her tests?

Now she's sitting, in a different room, waiting for him to show up. She gave some serious thought to having the doctors and staff pay her for having to wait.

Yesterday had been mildly uneventful, thank God. Mom and Dad went on their date night last night, the reason for being late getting home, Mom insisted on it so it'd keep their fire alive. Her parents and fire...shiver. Gross not something she'd want to think on for any length of time.

The knock she'd been waiting for finally came five minutes later. Doctor Asher announced his presence and came in. "Well Liz, there's nothing on your results that indicate anything serious. You mentioned that you've been dealing with some stress, although a lot less than you are use to. Want to elaborate on what you mean by that?"

Liz shrugged. How would she tell him that compared to the last two years of finding out about aliens, helping said aliens, running from anybody and everybody who were a threat to the aliens, lying to everyone, and on top of that dealing with regular life as a teen-this summer was extremely low-key. "School's out." He wouldn't believe her anyway if she told him.

He made a note in her chart. "From the symptoms you described you seem to experiencing migraines. Nothing that we can't prescribe a medicine for." He patted her on the knee and turned away to write up a prescription.

Great her parents paid money for the doc to tell her she seemed to be experiencing migraines. She hadn't gone to medical school and she could have told him that. Maybe she could be a doctor. Didn't seem that hard, all he did was check ears, nose, mouth, and said 'hmm' and 'say ahh'. Medical school here she comes.

He tore off a piece of paper with his chicken scratch written all over it and told her that if problems persist to come see him again. Yeah right, like she'd waste more of her parent's money she didn't think so. She politely thanked him and left the office.

Once she made it out of the hospital she glanced up at the sky and saw that the sun was still high enough in the sky that if she walked she could make it home before dark. For a brief minute she contemplated calling her parents to come and get her but tossed the idea aside. She hadn't taken a nice long walk for awhile and now was as good a time as any.

Liz shoved her hands into her pants pocket and went on her way. The hospital was only a mile or so away from her house, if it was much longer she would have broken down and called Dad to come get her lazy butt.

As she cut through familiar neighborhoods taking the short cuts she realized she went down one street she hadn't meant to go through. Maria's house was on the very street she strode down. What was she hoping for, Maria to come running out, gabbing about the latest gossip, or how frustrating she found Michael. Whatever she was hoping it didn't happen, it wouldn't happen.

Nobody even lived in that house anymore. Amy Deluca changed when Maria "disappeared" she sold her business and used the money she got from it to search for Maria. She'd been gone for the last two weeks on a lead; she didn't have the heart to tell the mother that her daughter wasn't even on the planet. There was no chance in hell she'd track her down.

Not for the first time she was wondering if she shouldn't just tell Amy and her parents about the aliens. However the second she thought that she knew what the outcome would be. Her in a padded cell wearing a straight jacket and getting treatment for the alien thoughts. No thank you.

RosSPNRosSPNRosSPN

_9:20 p.m._

Liz made it back to Crashdown with a slight spring in her step. The walk helped her clear her head and calm her frazzled mind. Half way though her walk she took a detour to the cemetery, she needed to talk to Alex. She believed with all her heart that Alex was there with her instead of standing at his own grave but sometimes she needed something physical to talk too. In this case it was his headstone.

Before having her long talk with him she called her parents and told them she'd be home late, she needed to talk to a friend and she get dinner at one of the fast-food joints near by. Once she got off the phone with them she got comfortable and started talking to her long-time friend.

She laid everything out, told him that she'd visited his parents two weeks ago. They were of course still grieving, his Dad had thrown himself into work and hardly ever came home anymore, mostly he stayed at the office. And his Mom spent hours in his room, talking and crying. Liz hoped that her visits would help them even if it were only a bit.

At eight o'clock she went to the fast-food restaurant down the street from the cemetery and had a sit down dinner. While there she watched families eat together and friends hang out drinking milkshakes, although from the way many of them were acting there was more than ice cream and strawberry flavoring in those cups. Liz stayed there for close to an hour, she didn't want to go home yet.

Over the phone she explained to Mom and Dad about what the doctor said and what the tests showed. Told them about the prescription and she'd get it filled tomorrow. She could tell they were happy she wanted to stay out for a little longer. Since her friends left she stayed close to home. They didn't mind but it worried them. Mom and Dad would probably be thrilled if she said she went to rob a bank with some of the local delinquents because then she wouldn't only be out she'd be with other people.

Tossing a crumbled up wrapper in the trash she left the restaurant sipping the rest of her drink. She entered the back way of the Crashdown and hurrying up the stairs to the front door. Her feet pound on the stairs until she reached the door. She went to put her key in the lock but it opened. Weird. Mom and Dad never left the door unlocked.

The nightmare.

Liz almost backed away from the door scared of what she may find. She breathed in and out quickly in short breaths unable to stop the mind-numbing panic. Blood rushed to her brain and it sounded like the ocean flooding the portals to hear, every sound was muffled.

Holding her breath she pushed open the door. "Mom?" She called out. Hoping to hear her cheerful voice before opening the door completely. But nothing came.

With her palm flat against the door she pushed it open fully, her mouth fell open but not a single peep came out.

A snarling, growling, and snapping furred creature sharply turned at the noise of the door. Seeing her it roared. The bodies of her broken parents lay unnoticed on the floor, the monster had her total attention. Drool and blood dripped from it's powerful jaws as it stomped closer to her trembling form.

Tears began to roll down her cheeks, she needed to move, she needed to move. Why then couldn't she move.

Jaws snap and terrified her to the core. She was frozen solid and it couldn't have happened at the worst time. One minute she's standing still in the doorway the next a large clawed hand bat her out of the apartment sending her flying down the stairs. When she landed she instantly blacked out.

TBC


	7. Chapter 6 A,B,& C

Note: While writing this part I realized I've been listening to a lot of music (which is nothing new) but some of the songs I've listened to have been giving me ideas for some of the chapters in this story. So I figured I'd put down what song(s) helped me envision a certain chapter. Some chapters won't have a song and others will have a few attached to it, some I picked for the melody alone and others for the lyrics.

My Happy Ending –Avril Lavigne (Prologue)

Prelude 12/24—AFI, Cells—The Servant (Chapter 5)

Ripped the Heart Out of Me—Adema (Chapter 6-first half)

**Chapter 6 A**

_July 6; Crashdown Backroom; 11:37 p.m._

Sirens reached her ears as she regained consciousness. She moaned in pain as she opened her eyes slowly. Light pierced her brain and she closed her eyes again as fast as she could. A deep Hispanic accent pushed through the chaos of her brain. "Liz. Sweetheart? Don't move." She felt a soft touch against her cheek. Jose? Why was he there? Didn't he go home at eight? Groaning she tried to turn but Jose kept a firm grip on her shoulders holding her in place.

"No, stay still. The ambulance is on their way. Just rest." He stroked her head doing his best to calm her.

"Mom?" She coughed out. "Daddy?" Liz wanted her parents. No one but them could make her feel completely safe and taken care of.

Silence followed her request; it wasn't until she said their names again that Jose spoke. "Just concentrate on yourself little one. Don't worry about them right now."

The siren which one-minute ago sounded close now seemed farther away, she felt herself falling back down the hole of darkness.

When she awoke again she heard Jose tell someone not to hurt one of his girls. It was an affectionate term he used with her and Maria. He saw them as his little sisters and no one was to mess with them without getting an ear full from him.

What was happening…she tried to move her head but couldn't.

"Don't move Miss Parker. Keep still." A firm but friendly female voice spoke to her.

"Mom?" She cried. "Dad?" Where were they? Why weren't they here? No one answered her; they seemed to not care where her parents were. Well she cared dammit.

Liz tried to get up but hands held her down. "Let go." Pain shot up her right side and her left wrist throbbed.

"Relax, you need to calm down. You're in an ambulance, we're on the way to the hospital. Your parents…" Some hurried voices cut off the woman speaking but she couldn't make it out because the pounding in her ears wouldn't stop. "They're on their way to the hospital."

Hearing that she calmed, okay, if they were headed to the hospital then it must not be so bad. Slowly her breathing slowed and she relaxed back into the stretcher she laid on. Now that the people had her up they tried to keep her up.

For the rest of the way to the hospital they kept her awake and somewhat alert. They asked her questions and asked her to tell them stories about happy times all to make sure she stayed up.

Over the next hour she was rushed to emergency, her broken left wrist was wrapped in a cast, the doctor said her entire right side was black and blue from landing hard on the stairs. No wonder it hurt to move. And he wrapped her ankle because it was sprained.

When she was wheeled into a room the doctor told her that she had a concussion, which explained why she was dizzy and had a difficult time keeping her eyes open. That was when she asked for her parents again. "Where are they? Are they alright?"

The doctor looked at his chart. "You were the only person admitted to this hospital from the address the ambulance was sent to…" He put a hand on his waist and took out his pen from his white jacket. A knock on the door interrupted their brief consultation.

It was the police. "Oh thank God. Where are my parents?" The doctor made no sense to her? The woman in the ambulance said her parents were on the way to the hospital. That means either they were hurt and were sent there for treatment or they were fine and out in the waiting room. Both scenarios led to the same result and that's them being in the hospital.

One of the male officers stepped forward, he was medium built, only 5'7 at the most, dark blonde hair and a long scar that started on his eyebrow and continued below his left eye. The long crooked nose kept the man from being classified as handsome but still was attractive. "Miss Parker, I'm sorry to be the one to tell you this but your parents didn't survive the attack."

The EKG machine beeped faster as her heartbeat accelerated, "But—but the woman in the ambulance…" She shook her head as tears formed in her eyes.

The older policeman stood taller than his partner at about six feet, he had tired eyes that had seen too much in his life. He stepped forward and stood closer to the hospital bed. "Whoever the woman was that told you that, I'm sure she said it to keep you calm." He would have gone on but from the look of the young woman in the bed she hadn't heard a word he said. "Miss Parker?"

Liz raised her head to look at the doctor and two officers, "They can't be dead—you see they can't be. You made a mistake it can't be them."

"It was them." The younger of the two spoke.

Any composure she had managed fled at those three words. "No!" She grabbed the Dixie cup filled with water next to her bed and threw it at them. "It's not! It's not!" Liz wailed in agony. The mirror across the room above the sink shattered as she cried.

The cracking of the mirror startled the other occupants of the room but Liz didn't notice or care. She curled up on her side, the EKG machine continued to freak out at the increase in heart rate. A few seconds later the machine was quiet and had a tiny stream of smoke coming from it. Not even that would break her out her grief.

TBC

**Chapter 6 B**

_6:14 a.m._

Nurses and doctors came and went through the night and into the morning hours, checking on her, making sure her bandages were in place and clean. After the police left her alone every time someone came in she stared straight ahead didn't interact—even when they asked her a question. What was the point of speaking when the only people she wanted to talk to weren't there anymore?

During the time between shift change she heard murmuring outside her door. The nurses and police thought the mirror broke because she threw a heavy object at it didn't matter that when it was cleaned up no one could find what she threw. Their excuse for the EKG machine was simply a short circuit. Entering the Alien Abyss she knew first hand that people tended to rationalize what they could and forget what they couldn't.

Doctor Shulle recommended a suicide watch, she'd have told him it would have been a waste of workers if she cared. She didn't feel like doing much of anything let alone killing herself. And yet there was a big burly female nurse that stood guard outside her door. At least she thought it was a female, the deep voice and male like face and body threw her off but she'd never heard of a man named Lily.

The room she's recovering in was meant for two people but there wasn't anyone in the next bed so she had it all to herself. Liz hadn't gone to sleep yet, the doctor wanted to drug her but she practically pushed him away saying she didn't want or need to be knocked out. The possibility of waking up strapped to a bed and being dissected by a Pierce wanna-be didn't make her warm and fuzzy.

Over the last six hours she had been staring off into space thinking about the creature that killed her parents. While the police questioned her she couldn't tell them what really had done the horrible crime so she lied and said she hadn't seen anything. Went on to say when she walked in the front door she'd been pushed aside and thrown down the stairs and that was last thing she remembered before waking at the bottom with Jose talking to her.

In reality she saw the thing quite clearly. The image of the murderous creature barring its teeth, snarling the blood of her parents dripping from its jaw and claws—it hadn't left her mind since the cops broke the news to her.

A knock on her hospital door broke her thought process. "Jose?"

The cook who had been pulling double duty these last few days because their new cook quit unexpectedly was holding a vase with various flower arrangements and a small black teddy bear with a tanned belly.

"Hey little one." He stepped passed the large nurse and set the items on her end table.

Although she didn't want to talk she couldn't ignore her friend. "Hi." Her voice hoarse from crying half the night.

"They wouldn't let me see you till now, something about visiting hours." Jose took hold of her good hand and held it. "I am so sorry this happened to you." He kissed her hand tenderly.

"Thank you." She spoke softly and sincerely.

"Is there anything I can get you?" He saw her battered and bruised body and fought the cringe. Liz was so small already; the bruises and bandages covering various parts on her body only made her look smaller and more fragile.

"Yesterday would be nice." Not wanting to hold back her tears any longer she curled up keeping a hold of Jose's hand and let out the tears that were clogging her throat. "I want them back. I want them back." She moaned out.

A firm hand stoked her hair, "I know. I would give them back to you if I could." He kissed her forehead. Jose held her till her tears subsided, she was shattered and there was nothing he could do to fix it. Nothing could take the pain away. Nothing could stop the helplessness he felt at not being able to make her better.

He held her for a few moments when Liz broke the silence; "Do you know how long I have to stay here?" She wanted to leave the hospital as soon as possible. Sniffing she leaned back and rubbed at her raw cheeks.

"Want me to go check?" He kept his voice low and calming.

"Please." Liz continued to wipe at her eyes rubbing the wetness on her hands on the sheets. Her hospital gown was soaked enough from crying.

In a few moments Jose returned with a doctor in tow. "Mr. Hernandez tells me you want to leave?" He put his hands on his waist in an aggressive manner.

"Yes I do." Where was her doctor? Dr…she took a moment to look at the tag with his name, Dr. Rooke had come in once before, after the police told her about her parents. His bedside approach sucked buttermilk, he told her to snap out of it. She only stared at him giving him no indication that she heard him, it almost made her laugh when he left in a huff.

"I recommend against it." He took his glasses off and gave her the full power of his glare. On most patients it worked but he didn't know the history of the woman he was speaking with. She wasn't one to be easily intimidated.

Anger coursed through her body, finally an emotion she could fully express without breaking down into tears. "Screw your recommendation. The only reason you want me to stay is to milk more money from me, so you can take your recommendation and stick it up your ass because I don't want it. Let me leave."

"I think you heard the lady doctor." Jose smirked at him. Many people underestimated his girl but they usually only did it once.

After arguing for a few more minutes the doctor reluctantly agreed to discharge her. Jose said he'd take care of everything and left with the irritated doctor. However getting out of there wasn't going to be that easy, the police wanted to talk to her first.

So there she sat waiting while the police talked to the doctor before they moved on to her. Finally they came into the room, one, a male, looked stern, while the other had a smile in her eyes.

"We hear you're talking again. Would you be willing to tell us anymore about what happened tonight?" The female, Detective Malone, spoke sweetly. Great, were they going to try good cop, bad cop on her? Sure seemed that way from where she's laying.

"Yea." She nodded, anything to get her out of that hospital room quicker. It wasn't that she hated hospitals, she knew they had a purpose but she didn't love them either.

"Good." Detective Malone, she took out a notepad. "Can you tell us where you were yesterday afternoon?"

Swallowing she asked them, "Umm, what time?" She'd had gone a lot of places yesterday, the detective needed to be more specific.

"Between the hours of 4 o'clock and 6 o'clock?"

"At the doctors office. Lately I have been having headaches and my parents wanted me to get it checked out." She didn't raise her voice too much, only spoke in a monotone voice, she couldn't get herself to put emotion into what she was saying.

"Have you ever had blackouts?" Both detectives wrote in their notepads while waiting for her answer.

"No. Just headaches." Right like she was going to mention that she had visions of her parent's death. They'd lock her up and not even look back.

Detective Redding nodded and mouthed something but she couldn't make it out. "You told the police earlier that you hadn't arrived home till almost nine thirty. Where else did you go between 6 and when you got home?"

"Walked around the neighborhood for a half an hour, stopped by a friends mother's house, then went to the cemetery, after that I had dinner at the Wendy's a few blocks from the Crashdown then went home."

"Why didn't you just go home after the doctor's appointment?" Redding asked.

"I hadn't been out of the house a whole lot these passed few weeks, it felt good to walk and be outside."

"And what about the friends mother and the cemetery visit?" Malone questioned. She didn't like the way the girls story was unfolding. Her actions gave the impression that she was waiting for her parents to be killed by an assailant before heading home.

"My friends mom has been having a hard time since her daughter disappeared, every once in a while she returns home and I wanted to see how she was doing. As for the cemetery I needed to talk to somebody."

Redding tapped his pen on his notepad. "Who is this someone. Is there any way we can get in touch with them to corroborate your story?"

"Not unless you have a direct line to the great beyond. My friend's been dead for a few months." She blinked back the tears.

"Then why were you there? If he's dead—" Redding began but he was cut off by the victim/suspects outburst.

"Listen he may not be physically there anymore but I still feel him. Alex was my best friend and he's gone—" she was about to continue but instead tried a different approach. "Do you talk to God Detective?" When he nodded she continued, "Why? He's not physically there but yet you still talk to Him. It's the same thing with Alex. It makes me feel better to talk to him and sometimes I need something physical to look at." Breathing heavily she acknowledged that apparently there was one emotion she could still feel and be unashamed and that was anger.

A few more minutes of questioning passed before Jose returned. "You're all checked out." He rose a hand in greeting as he walked over to her bed. In his other hand was a folded pile of scrubs. "The doctors said your clothes were ruined so they got these for you instead."

"Thanks Jose." She fingered the scratchy fabric. Didn't even get her own clothes back the perfect end to her night.

"Where will you be staying Miss Parker? You can't go back to the apartment yet and we'll need to get in contact with you." Malone told her.

"A hotel may be my best bet right now." She sighed.

Jose however had other ideas. "No, you're staying with me and my family."

TBC

**Chapter 6 C**

Liz swung her gaze to Jose, she should have known he'd offer up a place for her to stay, he always made it his goal in life to take care of 'his girls'. "Jose…"

"Don't argue with me, I know that tone." Liz shut her eyes briefly as he stared down at her. "You're coming to stay with me and Carla—"

"No." She opened her eyes and looked at him straight on. "I appreciate it you have no idea how much but I can't. Carla is going to pop any minute now with your boys and that house is not big enough for all of us." She took the scrubs between her fingers picking at it. "I'll stay at a hotel."

"That's not…"

Again she interrupted him, which irked him. "I'll be fine." Liz turned to the detectives. "So how do you want to handle this?"

"Where are you planning on staying?" Detective Malone asked. If what she felt in her gut was right they'd need to know where to pick her up when it was time to arrest her.

"Haven't thought that far ahead yet." She whispered.

A nurse entered the room, "All of you can wait outside while I get her ready to leave." She shooed the police and Jose outside shutting the door behind her.

Quietly the nurse unhooked the various tubes and electrodes, the only sound that she made were humming a tune that Liz feared would be stuck in her head for the next few hours. "There you go. You can change in the bathroom and I'll keep the others out for a few minutes."

When Liz nodded the nurse left. She stared at the nurse in question until she was out of sight. Wasn't someone supposed to make sure she could stand before leaving the room? Liz thought that would have been logical but then again she hadn't had fantastic experiences with doctors.

Slowly she eased from the bed, the cold floor seeped into her feet as she placed them flat. Liz cradled her broken wrist close and pushed up from the bed, sharp pain shot through her chest, damn ribs. Her ankle throbbed but she could still walk on it.

She made it to the bathroom with little trouble, once she closed and locked the door she put the lid down on the toilet and sat. Deep breaths in and out, her ribs pulsed angrily upset at the constant pressure. Briefly she contemplated staying in the hospital per doctor's orders, but tossed the thought aside as soon as it entered her mind.

Liz sat there staring at the gown she was wearing…how was she going to get it off without causing further injury to her already beaten body. She couldn't exactly reach the loosely knotted string in the back without straining her ribs. Maybe if she pulled it.

With her good hand she tightened it around the front of the hospital gown and pulled. Not only didn't it work but also the strings holding the article of thin cloth closed put pressure on her ribs.

Determined she looked at the gown again, okay she could figure the contraption out, she got straight A's in school she could figure out a simple napkin covering. Or she used to get straight A's before Alex died, after he left the world of the living she was lucky if she got D's on assignments, she hadn't cared any longer.

She swept her eyes down, if it hadn't been so close to the end of the year already she would have failed miserably. Instead she received mostly 'B's and one 'C', her straight 'A' streak went down the drain along with a number of her dreams.

Liz wiggled her good arm back into the armhole then gently lifted and pulled her broken wrist in through the other armhole. With a little bit of pain she lifted her arms up and pushed her head through the neck hole, which was also tied off. Once she was free of the first restriction she was able to let the gown fall to the floor, it barely made any noise as it pooled around her feet.

She let out a breath then picked up the pair of blue green scrubs, it took her a little over five minutes to get everything on. When she exited out of the bathroom Jose pushed away from the sink and let her lean on him as he helped her back to the bed.

"Sure I can't talk you into to staying here a couple more days little one?" He whispered. The detectives watched them closely; Redding jotted down a note to talk to Mr. Hernandez at a later date. They tried to speak to him there while they were outside the hospital room but he refused.

"No, I really want to get out of here." Liz sniffed then hissed. Damn ribs again, those were going to be bothering her for a while longer it seemed.

The doctor gave her a small bottle of painkillers to get her through the first forty-eight hours out of the hospital until she could get the prescription he gave her filled. Then the detectives asked her again what hotel she would be staying at, she told them the Motel 6 a few blocks from her home.

Satisfied the officers left her and Jose alone in the hospital room to get the rest of her things together. "That offer to stay at my place still stands Liz." He helped her stand from the bed and into the wheelchair waiting for her.

"I know…" She fiddled with her fingers. "Really need to be alone right now." Although why she couldn't tell him. If he knew what she planned to do the second he left her alone at the hotel he'd demand she go home with him.

Nodding Jose grabbed the teddy bear while the nurse walking beside them took the flowers he brought and carried them down to his car. He supported Liz as she slid into the passenger side of the car; he handed the wheelchair back to the nurse and rushed to the driver's side of the door.

The ride to the hotel was silent, Liz focused on nothing specific outside the window just watched the desert give way to businesses, then homes, and back to businesses again. Once they pull into the Motel 6 Jose parked in front of the check in doors.

By the time he exited the car Liz had the passenger door open and was working to get out. "I wish you weren't so stubborn." He mumbled more to himself than her.

"Dad's fault." She whispered tears rose but they didn't fall.

It took a few minutes for the woman at the front desk to get her a room; she couldn't take her eyes off the TV screen. Liz couldn't tell what it was but it must be riveting. She paid for the room for three nights. If she needed more she'd pay for more.

Jose asked the woman if there was an elevator to the upper two floors, he wasn't very happy when the woman told him no. Even started to yell at her but quickly stopped when he saw she wasn't paying any attention to him.

They got to her room with little problem, the room wasn't that bad, it looked semi-clean…was that a fly trap? She sat on the bed and sighed in relief, it felt good to get off her ankle.

"Say the word and you're in my car heading to my house." Jose glanced around not liking the surroundings he would be leaving her in. This was no place for her, especially tonight.

"I'm not moving from this spot for a few hours yet." She turned her lips up in a small smile, it didn't reach her eyes but it made him feel a little better.

"I'll come by tomorrow with your pain medication—I'd come by tonight but I have to take Carla to an appointment. If I can I'll swing by." He brushed the hair that had fallen in her face away and behind her ear. "Call me if you need anything. Promise me."

"Promise." Her eyes begin to droop. "Thank you Jose."

"You're welcome." He kissed the top of her head and quietly left the room.

The second the door shut closed behind him Liz's eyes opened. She limped over to the table where she placed her purse and the bear Jose got her. In the side compartment she found what she was looking for. Hard plastic smoothed over her fingertips as she pulled it out, her modified ID from the Las Vegas trip. Michael never changed it back when the got back to Roswell.

When she and Max were still on somewhat good terms she asked him to make it a more believable fake ID, who the hell would believe her name, was Shirley Temple. Maybe if she were three feet tall with curly hair bobbing on top of her head.

Now she was Erica Winterbourne, born in Roswell, NM, and twenty-two years old, able to get into clubs and drink till the cows come home. Her ankle throbbed, she should have chosen a hotel with room service, that way she could order the drinks from her room and not go down the liquor store across the way.

Liz reluctantly decided to wait a few hours before going down and buying out the liquor store. A couple more hours of sleep might help her sore body. She put the 'Do Not Disturb' sign on the door and locked it back up slipping the chain and deadbolt on before shuffling back to the bed where she promptly fell asleep.

TBC

Note: There are about 7 more updates before this one is up to date I'll post the rest on Sunday and/or Monday.


	8. Chapter 7

A.N. This chapter wasn't planned, I was going to skip it and only mention it briefly but as I started writing what is now chapter 8 it felt like there was something missing so I decided to write this part after all.

The song I had in mind for this chapter is 'Dirty Laundry' by the Eagles.

**Chapter 7**

_July 7, Somewhere in Arizona; 8:30 a.m._

The bitter scent of coffee wafted to his nose as he read the paper. He read the headline of the small article. **'Aliens upset over representation?'**

"Hmm." He took a drink of coffee then continued reading.

'_Grisly murder of two UFO restaurant owners. A man and a woman. It appears the man was bitten on the neck and then ripped apart by sharp teeth. The woman was shredded, had deep claw marks in her chest and legs. Witness claims she heard screaming from the apartment, then nothing. Names of the victims are being withheld, no suspects are being named at this time.' _

He finished the rest of the coffee and set the paper down. Might be a good idea to check it out, he was so close after all.

Ros-SPN-Ros-SPN-Ros-SPN

_2:15 p.m._

Liz awoke slowly, she wished she could say that she hadn't remembered what happened the night before. Unfortunately that was not to be the case. The second she opened her eyes she knew her parents were dead, and there was no way to bring them back.

She knew exactly where she was, where she had been, what she had seen. Nothing was blissfully forgotten during those first few minutes of consciousness. Stiffly she pushed off the bed and stood shakily. She wondered if it was still the seventh.

It didn't feel like she had been asleep for very long but how was she supposed to know. Sunlight filtered in from beneath the shut drapes, so the sun was out, at least she knew it was in the afternoon instead of early morning. It was progress.

Liz went to her purse, which was still on the table and dug through it. Her watch had to be in there someplace, she had it with her yesterday, it kept both time and date…but did she have it with her when she went to the hospital. She stopped for a second…she couldn't remember. Okay she had it at the fast food place, and then she went home…did it fall off when she was shoved down the stairs?

Angry she threw her purse back down on the table and brushed tears roughly away. A shower, she needed to shower. As she made her way to the bathroom she stripped off the clothes from the hospital…she didn't have any clean clothes.

All she had to wear was the hospital scrubs, her shoes, and Jose's jacket. Not exactly a full wardrobe. She and Jose never went back to the apartment, she hadn't wanted too. Wasn't even sure if she could with all the police and detectives around.

Turning on the shower she waited for it to be at the right temperature. As she waited she grabbed the garbage bag from the garbage can. It looked clean and there wasn't anything else that was plastic that could cover her cast. She pulled off her hair-tie and rolled it up her cast keeping the bag in place.

Liz then sat on the toilet and unwrapped her ankle, it made her ribs scream in protest but it had to be done. Carefully she stepped into the flow of steaming hot water. On the skin it felt like a thousand needles poking at her, but deep within it eased her muscle tension. Her ribs practically sighed in relief at the sensation of heat being applied.

Thirty minutes later she was clean and wrapped in a large terry cloth towel. She sat on the bed for a few moments before reaching over grabbing the remote. Anything was better then the silence of the room and the noise of her mind.

Pushing the power button turned out to be a huge mistake. The sound came first and it was on the news.

"_Horror rips through the Roswell community. Two well-known members were found brutally killed by what looked to be a wild animal. Let's go to Steven Gust live at the Crashdown Café."_

Silent tears flow down Liz's face as the picture became clearer and she watched the news team make ratings off her parent's murder. They were salivating over the details, competing with other stations, no doubt, for the best scoops.

"_Thanks Karen. We're here at the Crashdown Café a hot Roswell tourist spot. It was run by Jeffery Parker and his wife Nancy Parker. Both were well-known people in the neighborhood, their daughter wasn't in the home at the time of their deaths and at this time her whereabouts are unknown."_

Unknown by who? Just because the news stations didn't know where she was didn't mean no one knew where she was.

"_Are the police at this time looking at her as a suspect? Do they have any leads on where she was last seen?"_

No, bitch they don't because the only people who know right now are Jose and the two police officers…well and the hospital staff. Shit, they might have talked to the staff; they didn't have any loyalty to her or the police.

"_As of this moment they haven't named her a suspect. And because she is seventeen we can't reveal her name. The police have refused to answer any questions regarding the daughter, however the hospital staff did say that she was brought in shortly after her parents bodies were discovered with various injuries."_

Fantastic, thousands of people were going to be on the look out for her now. Heaven forbid she mourn her parent's death in peace.

"_Did the hospital staff say how she received these injuries? And is she still at the hospital now?"_

Bet the news team wanted to get her side of the story…yea right, they wanted a sound byte they could manipulate into whatever they wanted. Did they not care that this was her life, her pain that they were broadcasting citywide?

"_We have reliable sources that said she was at the bottom of the stairs unconscious, she was knocked out by whoever killed her mother and father but wasn't there during the actual killing. She checked out early this morning and from there no one has seen her since."_

Having heard enough Liz pushed the power button again. Now seemed like a good time to get good and drunk. Slowly she stood from the bed and put on the hospital scrubs back on. They didn't smell yet but she'd have to get some clothes soon.

Liz couldn't go back to the apartment yet. Her nightmares and the reality of the apartment refused to leave her and she didn't need to see any more.

She still had her credit card with a couple hundred dollars in there; she'd just need a couple pairs of clothes and undergarments. Gingerly she eased her socks on her feet and slipped on her shoes. She didn't bother to tie her laces just tucked them under the tongue.

She'd get clothes first, come back to the hotel then go to the liquor store across the street, the fake ID would be useful for something.

Slipping on Jose's jacket she grabbed her purse and slowly made her way to do her errands.

TBC


	9. Chapter 8 A & B

**Chapter 8 A**

_4:00 p.m._

Liz pushed the door to the hotel room open. In her arms was a bag full of alcohol. And it wasn't any of that beginner's alcohol, like beer, maybe a wine cooler. No, it was honest to God alcohol that could get her shit-faced in a matter of minutes.

Tequila, vodka, whiskey, and ouzo, she bought that last one on a whim. She wanted to drown and dammit she was going to do it in style.

Earlier she bought a few items of clothing, enough to last her for two days. At the store some people noticed her and pointed at her. She honestly couldn't have cared less. Sure she looked like she had gone a couple rounds with a boxer and all right so the bags under her eyes, chapped lips, slow movements and dull stare made her seem like a zombie…or drug addict. Didn't give them the right to stare at her and point.

Once she went back to the hotel room she changed as fast as her injuries would allow her and went back out to the liquor store across the street. While there she saw the guy at the front counter stare at her oddly and when she put the alcohol in her basket he picked up the phone.

From his quick glances back and forth between her and the door she had a good idea about who he was calling. News vans and reporters would be outside his store in no time looking for her, the girl who had no parents.

She grabbed a couple more drinks and hurried up to the counter. He tried to stall her by taking his time ringing up her items, when he asked for her ID he looked at it very closely and carefully. When he looked into her eyes though he stopped stalling.

Maybe he saw something inside her that pulled at his heartstrings. Gave him a brief moment of caring and warmth towards her. Liz rolled her eyes, he probably saw she was within a hairs breath of ripping his spleen out through his throat.

Finally after five minutes he finished ringing her up, she paid and left the store in a hurry. As she crossed the street and made her way up to her room she saw the news vans pulling up to the store. Just like she thought, she was the story of the minute and dammit they'd give her their full attention until something better came along.

Once she set the bag on the table, Liz slowly began emptying it. The bottles were lined up in a row; she grabbed the first because it was the closest to her. With angry pulls she unwrapped the plastic that kept people from tampering with it and unscrewed the top. The burning whiskey set a flame of fire down her throat, it warmed her belly; it wasn't nearly as nice her mother's embrace would have been but it would have to do for now.

Swallow after swallow cascaded down her throat. Eventually she didn't feel the burning sensation but her body warmed as more and more alcohol entered her system. She walked over to the bed and sat down, only taking small sips as she made herself comfortable.

_July 8; 10:00 a.m._

Bam! Bam! Bam!

Liz wrinkled her nose. "What?"

Bam! Bam! Bam!

Her mouth was dry and she was facing down on the bed. Where was she? Liz lifted her head a bit and she groaned at the pain in her brain. She turned over to look at the lamp. "Hey…stop moving." She stammered out.

"Miss. Parker!" A loud voice came from the other side of the door but it sounded like it was right in her ear.

Not feeling the screaming of her ribs from lying on them for a couple hours she rolled from the bed. She turned and turned laughing as she went until she landed hard on the floor. "Ow." Liz giggled crazily.

Bam! Bam!

"Open the door Miss Parker, it's Detective Malone and Redding."

She popped up from the floor with gusto. "Company." The bottles next to her bed clanked together as she struggled to her feet. Standing proved a difficult task all by itself, her feet refused to cooperate, and her legs weren't working to well either.

Once she made it to her feet she couldn't walk without the room moving on her. "Stop moving!" She yelled to the furniture. "It's not nice." She scolded.

On the table she noticed she still had one full bottle left of alcohol. She felt bad about ignoring the bottle. It looked at her as if to say 'Don't I mean anything to you?' Nodding to it she said, "I'll drink you later."

Finally after much huffing and puffing she made it the door and unchained the top of the door and twisted the deadbolt then she opened it to the two Detectives. "Guests." She smiled.

"Miss. Parker? Are you all right?" Redding stepped forward into the hotel.

Liz stood straighter and stared at the man in front of her. "Whoa personal bubble." She stared up at him and almost fell back but he caught her before she could topple over. "You're really tall." She giggled again.

Detective Malone stepped in behind her partner and saw the full alcohol bottle on the table and the three empty ones on the floor. "She's plastered."

"What was your first clue?" Redding carefully lifted the intoxicated young woman up in his arms and carried her to the bed.

"Elizabeth?" Malone stood next to the bed leaning over her. "Where did you get the alcohol?"

Liz stared at her oddly, where did she get it? "The Alcohol Fairy brought it." She laughed and tried to turn over onto her side but Malone kept a hand on her shoulder. In her inebriated state it was enough to keep her from moving too much.

"Was it the Liquor Store across the street?"

"Well, where else would I—" Oh she didn't feel good. With little warning she turned toward the detectives and vomited on the floor right at their feet.

Malone stood up shocked and disgusted, but she quickly got over it and grabbed the wastebasket shoving it under the sick girl.

"I'll get some towels." Detective Redding hurried to the bathroom and grabbed two large towels and a washcloth. He wet the washcloth and hurried back out. Elizabeth was still losing the stomach full of alcohol into the trashcan.

A few minutes later she stopped and was laying face up on the bed with the wet cloth on her forehead. She felt awful. During the night she had forgotten about her problems, everything was fine and great, she found everything funny and nothing sad. Guess she knew what kind of drunk she was, a happy one.

"What time is it?" She mumbled out. Were there cotton balls in her mouth? She felt around the inside of her mouth but didn't find cotton balls. Liz cringed at the gross taste she had though.

Squeezing her eyes shut she wished to go home. She wanted her Mommy and Daddy. They'd hold her and whisper their love into her hair. She'd cry but the tears would subside quickly with her parents comforting her. Flashes of their bodies raced through her mind.

Nausea threatened to take over her again but she managed to keep what little she had in her stomach down. The pictures in her head of the creature that took them away from her snarled at her, as if it didn't like being at the forefront of her mind.

"It's about ten in the morning." Malone spoke with authority but softly.

Groaning Liz eased up. "And the day?"

"July eighth." Redding told her. He watched as she wiped her face with the small towel then pushed her hair back.

"Jose's coming today." Liz whispered more to herself then anyone else. Swallowing hard she looked at the two cops standing in her room. "Why are you here? Did you find who killed my parents?"

"No. We stopped by to check on you and take you to lunch." Malone revealed. It would be the perfect time to get some information about her. A casual meal could open many doors that Elizabeth wanted to keep closed.

Liz glared up at her. "Do I look like I want to go to lunch with anybody?" She stopped the rest of the sentence from leaving her mouth; did it look like she wanted to eat lunch with them?

"You need to eat." Redding smiled a little at her.

Immediately Liz went on the alert, she tensed a bit. She was use to guys smiling at her, she had her fair share of admirers but being apart of the Alien Abyss tended to make one suspicious of even the most innocent of smiles.

Reluctantly she nodded. "All right." Sniffing she scooted toward the end of the bed. "Let me take a shower."

Having very little personal effects she grabbed her purse from the end table…how did that get there. Hadn't she left it on the other table by the window? She must have moved it when she was drunk. Standing on shaky legs she shuffled toward the bathroom, along the way she picked up the shopping bag filled with the clothes she bought earlier. With a soft click of the door Liz was out of their view.

TBC

A.N. A few of the demons/creatures/supernatural beings that are mentioned in this are from the book _A Field Guide to Demons, Fairies, Fallen Angels, and Other Subversive Spirits_, by Carol K. Mack and Dinah Mack. Some will also obviously be from the show and a couple may be from Internet research.

I know many are anxious for Dean (and Sam) to enter the story, I'm anxious too. I'm itching to start writing the scene when they come face to face and meet but I have a fairly tight outline that I need to stick with. This is one fic where if I don't stick to the outline closely I'll be disappointed in myself for going too fast through this time in Liz's life.

Liz is entering the Supernatural verse slowly; Dean and Sam aren't the first characters from the show that she meets. In fact they're more like the fifth/sixth people that she meets. Right now she's realizing that there are more than aliens out there, but I don't want her to get fully emerged in this world yet, she just on the surface and there's a small hole where she can see some things but not get the whole picture or be a part of that world. (I hope that made sense).

Song for Ch 8A and 8B is Nobody's Home by Avril Lavigne.

**Chapter 8 B**

_11:15 a.m. _

It took an hour for Liz to shower and dress. When she left the bathroom the floor had been cleaned up of her vomit and the window was ajar letting fresh air breeze into the room.

The detectives watched her closely as she limped over to the bed and sat down for a second breathing in slowly giving her ribs a brief rest before reaching for her shoes. Detective Malone kept silent as she slipped on her shoes but once they were on she asked a question.

"Where did you get the clothes?"

Liz swept her gaze over to her in a slight glare. "Store." She took a deep breath and then pushed off the bed being careful of her injured wrist. Still dizzy from her alcohol binge she closed her eyes and steadied her legs. Shit, her damn headache was back. Liz pinched the bridge of her nose in frustration.

"Where did you get the money to buy those clothes?" She prodded.

Irritated Liz snapped back. "I have a job Detective, it helps when you need to buy things." She limped by Malone and picked up Jose's jacket cradling it to her chest. "Now you said you wanted to take me out to lunch. Fine, don't care, but I'm not going to stand here and be berated with questions that a five year old could answer."

Redding thought Tracy, his partner, was all washed up on her theory about Liz Parker. Being in the room with her he could see she was heartbroken over her parent's murders. Her eyes were dead, even as she argued with Malone there wasn't a glimmer of life.

Tracy wouldn't let go of her theory that Liz Parker was behind Nancy and Jeff's deaths. Why had she been dawdling around town when, according to the people they'd questioned that hadn't been her usual pattern the last month and a half. Why did whoever pushed her down the stairs leave her instead of killing her like Nancy and Jeff? Evidence and statements weren't matching up to her story and Tracy Malone was going to find out why.

Noah Redding moved between the two females, "We do want to take you to lunch. And if you're ready maybe you can answer a few questions for us?"

Relaxing her scowl Liz nodded. "At least you asked." Slowly turning back around she opened the door and stepped out waiting for the two Detectives to leave her room.

Once they were out she closed the door behind them. It was hot outside but thankfully not unbearably hot. They escorted her to their vehicle; Redding opened the door for her and waited patiently as she eased in. Once she was settled he reached in to buckle her seat belt, too tired to wave off his assistance she let him, his thumb accidentally brushed against the exposed patch of skin on her hip.

Her vision blurred, once able to see vibrant colors now all she saw was black and white.

_[i]"Stop right there!" A voice shouted forcefully._

_Liz twisted her head around to see who spoke. Redding was standing outside his car, the door between him and whomever he was shouting at. He had his gun drawn and aimed in her general direction but not at her. _

_In slow motion she turned back around getting a look at who else was there. A nearly naked woman crouched down staring menacingly at Redding. She looked human except for two key things, her hands and feet were clawed, and blood dripped down her mouth. _

_It was the only color she could see. Blood red, sticking to her chin and throat, dripping onto the hot desert floor.[/i] _

Redding pulled away and her vision went away when his thumb lifted from her hip. Sweat beaded on her forehead and she let out a shaky breath.

"Are you okay?" He saw her freeze and stare straight ahead.

Nervously she nodded and tried to get as far away from Detective Redding as the seat would allow. Not quite believing her but not able to do anything either he closed the door and went to the driver's side.

Not long after they started driving toward the restaurant Malone turned in the passenger seat. "Either tomorrow or the next day you'll be able to go back home."

"So soon?" Liz questioned, the creature in her vision still at the forefront of her mind.

"Yes, we have people who once we're done collecting evidence that will "clean up"." She explained.

Liz stared out the window and heard the unsaid words Detective Malone cut off. They'd clean up her parent's blood; she wasn't sure how they'd get the dried in lake of blood out of their beige carpet. Mom spilled orange juice on it two years ago and no matter how much Resolve™ she used it didn't come out. Blood had to be harder than orange juice.

Silence took over the car's occupants again until they arrived at the restaurant. Liz unbuckled, not waiting for the Detectives to help her and pushed open the door. Stepping out of the car proved a little more difficult but she managed without their help.

With Jose's coat still clutched to her chest she followed behind Redding and in front of Malone. They entered the restaurant and within a few minutes were seated at a table in the middle level. The establishment had the tables set up like theatre or concert seating. The large windows were at the front and there was a lower level directly behind the glass, then another level slightly higher, the level they sat in and lastly another level slightly higher.

The reason for that kind of seating was the view. A bright blue cheerful sky and on the horizon mountain tops, at sunset the yellow globe of fire and light would peak through the spaces and try to grab a little more attention. Below the mountains a small man-made lake gently swayed with the wind.

The restaurant was crowded; she was surprised they managed to get a table. Why Redding and Malone decided on this place was a mystery to her. It wasn't exactly a cheap place to eat, although it wasn't ridiculously expensive either.

When she had first entered she noticed the stares shot her way. Too many people watched the news, she was sure of it by their reaction to her presence. Didn't these people have their own lives to live?

A waiter came up to their table. "Hi, I'm Keith I'll be your server today. Can I start you off with some drinks?"

Redding looked toward her first. Liz doubted they'd allow her to drink alcohol in their company so she didn't even bother trying. "Cherry coke."

Malone and Redding, she still hadn't been told their first names, stuck with water. The least they could do was pretend they wanted lunch with her. Ordering water said that they didn't want to wait the extra minute or two it would take to fill a glass full of a different beverage. It was rude.

Of course she didn't say anything though, what good would it have done? While the waiter was gone filling her drink order, she looked at the menu. Her mouth still felt like cotton balls were shoved in her cheeks, not to mention her nausea bubbled at the top of her stomach.

After mentally tossing out most of the menu she decided on a simple club sandwich. Liz put the menu down and stared down at the table. The view from the window would have been beautiful, if she could have looked at it. As it turned out bright, eye piercing sun shining through the glass wasn't conducive to getting rid of a headache.

A low murmur of whispering voices could be heard but nothing she could make out. Malone chose that moment to lean forward and start asking her some seemingly innocent questions.

"Liz, do you have any friends in town that you could stay with? We realize you didn't want to stay with your co-worker Jose but is there anyone else you'd be comfortable with staying with?"

Liz glanced up from her intense gaze at the table. "If I did I wouldn't be staying at a hotel." At a time like this when her entire world was falling apart there were only two people she'd want to go to besides her parents and that was Alex and Maria. Unfortunately one resided in a cemetery while the other wasn't on planet Earth any longer. That effectively knocked those two out of her options list.

"Do you have any relatives—" Redding tried.

"None in Roswell or even close to Roswell." She whispered staring intently at the water in her glass; she followed closely the water droplet that slid down the short glass and soaked into the white tablecloth below.

Liz swung her gaze around the room, getting angry at the multitude of stares. Her lungs felt tight, like someone was sitting on her chest. Why did they have to take her to lunch? There were too many people there. Too many watching her, waiting for her to break.

The waiter came back then with her drink and then took their orders. Once he wrote them down he went back to the kitchen.

"Why were you staying out that night, so late, when you had stayed in almost every night for a month before that?" Malone saw her fidget and hoped she'd catch herself in a lie and she'd be able to close the case on her parent's murder. She hoped it would be that easy but she doubted it.

Liz sniffed. "Already told you that answer but if you need to hear it again okay. I had a doctor's appointment; one Dad set up for me. I needed to talk to Alex, but I didn't feel like talking air, so I went to the cemetery, called my parents, let them know."

"And they were still alive?" Redding while not agreeing with his partner's theory backed her play.

"Of course. If they hadn't of answered I would have gone straight home from the doctor." She explained.

"Why?" Malone softened her tone but didn't let up.

Sighing Liz played with her napkin. "I wouldn't want them to be worried." She spoke slowly and carefully. "Besides if I didn't talk to them directly and I didn't come home when I was suppose to…" Liz shook her head and scoffed.

"Did your Dad hurt you?" Redding ventured.

"What?" Liz breathed out.

Malone sipped at her water. "We know what kind of man he was before he met your mother. Wild, drank, got arrested a few times for drugs and once for attempted murder. Not to mention that he was the one who drove the car killing his girlfriend. Whose to say he didn't revert back…or never stopped."

Steeling her jaw Liz sucked back her tears, how dare she speak about her father that way. "I know what kind of man he was before he met Mom. And I know what kind of man he was after, he would never hurt me, he'd—" She swallowed hard, "he'd take care of himself before that ever happened."

The whispers increased in volume and she stared at everyone. Some were staring but others had apparently gotten bored with keeping her in their line of vision. She shut her eyes, she could make out a few sentences here and there, but the ones that came through were all directed at her.

_That poor child, so alone. _

_Killed her parents._

_Went psycho and butchered them._

_Is she crying? _

_{Snarl.}_

At that she opened her eyes. What the hell was going on? With her eyes open the whispers lowered in volume so she couldn't understand any of the sentences but they were still background noise.

Their waiter came back to the table and set the plates he was carrying in front of her and the two detectives. Liz glanced at her watch; she just had to keep it together for a little while longer than she could go to the hotel room.

Leaning forward she began picking at the club sandwich she ordered. She barely noticed the back and forth glances between Malone and Redding. Malone was irritated that she wasn't as cooperative while Redding seemed like he wanted his partner to back off.

Finally after a mostly silent lunch of her ignoring questions the duo asked, the detectives drove Liz back to hotel. Malone stayed in the car and Redding helped her up to the room. She thanked him quietly for lunch and shut the door behind her not waiting for his response.

When she shuffled over to the bed, her ankle throbbing because she walked on it too much she realized she had a problem. Her lone bottle of alcohol was gone. The detectives must have confiscated it when they saw her a giggling mess.

She looked at the time, almost one in the afternoon. Okay, she'd give her ankle two or three hours to rest, then she'd go to the liquor store again and restock. She'd have to wait till after Jose came to continue her binge but at least she'd have the alcohol to do it with.

Liz eased back onto the bed and laid back. She rested her head on the pillow and the tears flooded forth. The soul crushing reality that her parents weren't there to stop her from making a huge mistake hit home. They wouldn't be there to rip the alcohol from her hand, yell at her for trying to screw up her life, she'd give anything for them to shake their head in shame.

TBC


	10. Chapter 9

Song for Chapter 9: Moonlight Sonata by Beethoven

**Chapter 9**

_July 9; 1:18 p.m._

It had been twenty-four hours since her failed lunch with the detectives. What happened at the restaurant would surely keep her on the suspect list. She wasn't stupid, Malone clearly thought of her as the murderer. Yelling at the voices in her head to shut up hadn't given them any reason to believe she was sane and incapable of killing her parents.

Liz stared up at the UFO crash landing into her family's business. The double entrance doors were shut tight with crime scene tape still plastered over the windows. The bright yellow tape glared back at her, mocked her, and let her know that the restaurant and apartment above were no longer her home.

Through the window, which now because of interested people was smudged with fingerprints, she saw many chairs pulled out and not in the normal order it would be in if none of this had happened. She licked her chapped lips and sniffed softly.

Briefly she turned away from the front entrance and stared down the street. A few people on the sidewalk stopped and pointed at her. When they noticed her watching them watching her they had the decency to turn away and continue on their way, although not without sneaking peeks at her as they went.

Jose stopped by yesterday afternoon. She had only just returned from the liquor store when she saw Jose's car pull up near her motel room. Quickly opening the door she hurried, as well as she could, to hide the alcohol.

He brought her pain medication and stayed and talked with her for a half an hour. For a small moment in time she contemplated ending it all. She had pain killers and alcohol; it probably would have been easy. However her faith stopped her from seriously considering the option. While not an overly religious individual she did believe in God and the consequences of taking her life. Eternal damnation didn't appeal to her.

A little further into his visit Jose mentioned that since the Crashdown was technically a crime scene, even though the murders happened upstairs, that the restaurant couldn't be opened during the gathering of evidence. He stopped by the place yesterday asking to get a few items of hers but the police wouldn't allow him access since he wasn't family. They probably wouldn't have let her in either since she was a suspect.

Although he might not have meant to he made her feel guilty that he and the other staff members were at least temporarily out of a job. Dad and Mom were the manager/owners of the restaurant, but in the event that they couldn't make it in they had a third party come in as an assistant manager and he'd take over while they were gone. However the contract never specified what would happen in the event of their deaths. Everyone was floating in the sea of uncertainty and she didn't know what to do.

Sensing her guilt Jose changed the subject to other things like Carla and her pregnancy. Unfortunately her mind kept wandering to the tasks that were suddenly her responsibility. Did the staff get paid even though they weren't open for business? What if she didn't want the restaurant any more? What if she did? Who would take care of the Crashdown? And the one question that plagued her most of all, who would take care of her?

A few more minutes had passed and Jose noticing how helpful he wasn't being, decided to leave. He told her he'd be there for her if she needed anything and he'd stop by tomorrow if he could. Since he was searching for a temporary job that came first on his list of priorities so he might not be able to come by till the day after tomorrow.

Liz limped over to the side of the building. Over the last couple days her injuries had gotten better, than got worse. The doctor's at the hospital warned of that possibility occurring, sometimes on the third day it felt worse than when the injury was first sustained. Just one more thing to screw up her afternoon.

Even though there were more stairs leading up to the apartment on the side entrance she couldn't quite bring herself to walk up the stairs in the Crashdown. Every time she closed her eyes she saw that creature snarling at her, dripping her parent's blood from its wide ferocious jaws.

Her stomach rolled and she gripped the railing. Miraculously she kept her small breakfast down and continued on her way up the metal staircase. Finally she reached the top and took out her keys slipping them into the lock. The sound of the lock releasing pounded in her ears like a drum.

As if in slow motion she turned the knob and opened the door. Because the upstairs wasn't originally an apartment the steel door opened out instead of in. Standing at the threshold she breathed one big inhale letting the air expand her lungs and calm her nerves as best it could. Gathering her courage she took one big step inside and shut the door behind her.

The heavy door sounded like the closing of a tomb. It wasn't a far off analogy considering what happened there and the current empty and eerie atmosphere around the apartment. Swallowing passed the lump in her throat she took slow methodical steps further into the living room.

Each slap of tennis shoes on tile was carefully thought out. Heel, ball, toe. Heel, ball, toe. The meticulous execution of walking was the only way to continue her progress forward into the room.

A low hum could be heard around the room. The room's cool temperature was a stark contrast from the baking heat outside. She wished she brought Jose's jacket with her.

The darkness enveloping the space around her brought both comfort and terror. Comfort for the harsh reality it hid from her and terror of the known. She knew what was there; cut out pieces of carpet, some furniture most definitely missing, and while she knew what remained hidden in the dark, turning on the light would confirm the murder of her family.

Until then there had been a sliver of hope that all that occurred was just a horrible nightmare and she'd wake up and be held by Mom and Dad. But when she switched on the light her fears were realized. It wasn't a nightmare that she could wake up from. It was real and it hurt like hell.

Liz violently bit her lip desperate to keep the sob locked inside. Her parent's home was gutted. The living room lay practically bare of anything. The only two things that remained was a large book case with various knick-knacks and books on the other side of the room from the door leading down to the Crashdown and her parent's television set and stand along that same wall.

She knew what to expect because the police told her that they took everything with blood on it. Seeing the room though empty and hollow made the expected seem unexpected. Even the door was taken out, but that she could see had been replaced with a new one. The police gave her the set of keys.

Sniffling she wiped her nose with the back of her hand. Liz continued through the barren living room toward the direction of her room. Beneath her feet tile gave way to carpet which quickly became tile again. The cleaners really did a good job; she couldn't even see the blood that most definitely soaked through the carpet and into the tile below.

When she reached the hallway, once again carpet cushioned her footfalls. Liz's chin quivered as she leaned against the wall. Her ribs ached painfully at her uneven breaths. Gently she rubbed under her arm and along her bruised torso.

Pushing away from the hallway wall she walked through more darkness, that time she didn't turn the light on, she knew the way through the home by heart. Even with the meager glow from the living room's overhead light she could barely see an inch away from her face but she never stumbled once.

Reaching her door she twisted the knob and pushed it open. The door got stuck for a second, as it always did when she opened it but it didn't take much to push passed the jam. When she and her parents moved into the upstairs apartment Daddy tried to fix the jam. At five years old she thought he sounded funny yelling and swearing at the door when everything he tried helped nothing.

Liz flipped on the light and sighed as her room was bathed in false light. Although she could see okay with the light from the window she needed more to see everything in her bedroom. In the apartment, before moving in, there had only been two windows originally, one in her room and one in her parent's. Later there had been one window added to the kitchen and another in her parent's room.

Her bedroom, the one refuge from the craziness of her life was no longer a safe haven. Her home was no longer a safe haven. Steeling her nerves she got to work in packing up some of her things.

Liz grabbed a duffle bag and moved to her dresser grabbing a few pairs of pants and a few shirts. She didn't bother to fold them. Socks, underwear, and a bra were stuffed into her duffle bag next. Once she got the clothes she went over to her desk.

The laptop Dad gave her for her birthday last year was exactly where she left it right in front of her chair. Getting the cord out of the wall didn't make her side feel good but she managed and put the laptop into her duffle bag.

Around the room she went gathering a few things that she thought she would need. She didn't plan on coming back to the apartment for a few days. She had to get everything ready for the funeral and inviting people and whatever else she had to do for her parent's.

Earlier, before coming to the Crashdown, she got a call from a funeral director. The man, a regular customer at the Crashdown plus a good friend of Jeff's, had offered to help her with anything to make the—experience a smooth one or as smooth as it could be.

Jeff and Nancy both set aside funds for their funerals, however neither expected to leave the land of the living so soon. There was only a little more than a thousand dollars in those funds. For the last five years they'd been slowly putting in money so by the time they were old and grey it would be enough to cover both her parent's funeral expenses.

It didn't take long to pack up the few things she'd need to bring to the motel. As she lifted her bag onto her shoulders she quickly swept the room with her gaze. So many happy memories were contained within these walls. Sad memories, angry ones, and meaningless ones too. So many memories shattered in an instant.

Silently she walked through the bedroom door and back into the hallway. Directly across from her door was her parent's bedroom. Did she want to go in there? Nights of being sick and laying in Mom and Dad's bed watching TV and sleeping the illness away. Borrowing Mom's jewelry for a special occasion and the moments of pride that she had when she got to wear some of the more expensive pieces.

Taking a deep breath she set her duffle bag on the side of the door leading to the master bedroom. The door was ajar and she could see the lamp next to Nancy's side was still lit. Liz clenched her jaw and rested her forehead against the door molding. Mom had been up waiting for her the night she was killed.

Every night Nancy would get prepared for bed at about seven in the evening. She'd go to bed at about eight thirty but not before reading a couple more chapters in the latest novel she was reading. Mom, most mornings, got up at two-thirty or three o'clock.

Nancy got started with the housework early usually beginning with cleaning the windows while watching movies or the television programs she frequently missed by going to bed so early. By the time Liz and Jeff awoke to start their day Nancy had their breakfast done or almost done. When Jeff would go downstairs to the Crashdown and she to school Mom would take a break and then an hour later would be back keeping the home clean. Only once stopping for a significant amount of time to watch _The Young and the Restless_ and to eat lunch.

The only time Mom stayed up any later was if she waited for Liz to arrive home. Liz and Nancy weren't always the closest mother and daughter but it warmed her heart that Mom refused to go to sleep until she was safe and sound at home.

Gathering her frazzled emotions she pushed open the door completely. Her father's dresser, near the door, had a thin coating of dust over the top. Mom normally dusted every other day after lunch. She liked order, everything in its place, everything clean, and everything on a schedule. Dad on the other hand would leave his things lying around, strewn about and most importantly in Mom's way.

Liz ran a single finger over the spattering of dust rubbing it absentmindedly between her index finger and thumb. The book Nancy had been reading that night laid spread a quarter of the way through. A small glass of water sat right next to it on the end table and the top sheet cover was tossed back.

Liz sealed her eye lids shut and thought on those final few moments in her parent's bedroom. It didn't require much imagination on her part. Mom had been reading later than normal, waiting for her to return. She heard Dad answer the door or make a noise or even scream and shout. Mom would have set the book down and threw the thin covers off her body and raced into the living room.

_{Growl}_

Her eyes shot open. Whipping her head around quickly Liz searched for the source of the growl in her mind. She went to her parent's bedroom window and looked out. There were a few people walking down below. That was the second time since Mom and Dad's death that she'd heard people thoughts. She pressed the palm of her hand against her forehead and wondered, not for the first time, what was happening to her.

Who would be thinking a snarl and a growl? Maybe the better question would be what thought in snarls and growls? Erasing the question from her mind, at least for now, she spotted Mom and Dad's closet door. Stepping over to it she grasped the gold round knob and pulled while pushing simultaneously. The well used door opened with ease. Rows and rows of clothes hung up neatly. From casual, to dressy and everything in between.

Liz ran her hand over the tops of Jeff and Nancy's garments that hung on the hangers. Various fabrics slid under her fingers, a few tickling her finger pads. Looking fondly at a piece of clothing her hand stopped on she pulled out one of her father's favorite shirts. Removing it from the hanger she stared at it for a moment.

Before long Liz held her father's blue buttoned shirt that he wore when he wasn't behind the grill helping out up to her nose. Smelling the collar brought a rush of memories. Stale cigarette smoke, a hint of leather from the chair in his office, and the slightest bit of cologne that Mom got him for his birthday wafted from the garment.

Needing the comfort those familiar scents brought she put on the shirt and wrapped it around her body. Looking in the closet again she found a similar shirt that Mom always stole from Dad's side of the closet. Nancy wore it so often that she had replaced Jeff's smell with her own.

Smiling sadly she remembered seeing Mom wearing the shirt when she was cleaning or doing laundry. Sometimes she'd see her put it on when Dad was out of town for a meeting or convention that she couldn't go to.

As she did with her father's shirt she brought the piece of clothing up to her nose and smelled it triggering more memories. The scent of cleaning solutions, fabric softener, and her raspberry lotion, that she always put on her arms and legs once in the morning and once at night, came from the shirt reminding her of hugging Mom and walking by her in the kitchen.

Carefully she set the shirt down on the bed and reached into the closet. Down on the floor was an empty box, it took a few painful tries to grab it but once she did she smiled. Liz put the box next to the shirt, lifted the shirt back into her hands and folded it neatly and placed it with care into the box.

Going back to the closet she found a few more items of clothing from her Mom's side and folded them the same way and just as cautiously into the box. She limped over to Mom's dresser and grabbed her raspberry lotion and the perfume that she normally wore when she ran out of lotion and put them beside her folded clothes and closed the lid. Liz wanted to keep that smell as long as she could and when she got lonely she'd be able open the box and just remember.

Wanting to do the same with her some of her father's clothes she went to the living room closet, near the front door where they had kept more boxes and pulled one out. As she went to turn back toward her parent's bedroom she spotted Dad's truck keys on the wall. Mom hated it when he left his keys on the table closest to the front door. So she'd move the keys to the hook on the wall near the kitchen.

Liz breathed hard, she was overworking her battered body but she didn't want to stop yet. She grabbed the keys from the hook and put them in her pocket she'd take Dad's truck with her. "Dad won't need it any time soon." She spoke to the empty room.

At her gallows humor she laughed sardonically. Her ribs hurt but she didn't care. Once her laughter died down she stood up straight again. Everything hurt. Her body, her mind, and her heart, she wanted it all to stop.

Mom would have appreciated her humor. That was one of the few things they shared. When something bad happened they joked about it with each other. She'd say a crass statement and it'd get Nancy going. Neither ever did it in front of anyone but Jeff, too many people might think they were cold and unfeeling.

The truth was they probably felt things too much. Joking about it though, laughing it out helped in the long run. Who would appreciate her macabre sense of humor now? Who would be right along side her making light of a man they didn't know jumping to his death off a cliff?

For the next few moments she packed some of her father's shirts along with a few things that would keep the articles smelling like him. She grabbed another box, this one smaller, from the hall closet and packed up some of her mother's favorite and sentimental jewelry. Then she took Grandpa's wedding ring, Jeff kept it in a ring box next to his dresser.

Once she closed the boxes tight she took them out to the living room one at a time. While fairly light weight she couldn't carry more than one down the stairs. Her broken wrist and sprained ankle, along with her ribs wasn't conducive to carrying multiple packages—oh yea, that'd be a comical sight. She'd step on the first stair and tumble down, like Meryl Streep in _Death_ _Becomes Her_. Only she wouldn't be getting up after her fall.

Again she chose to go down the long way. She wasn't ready to face the stairs leading to the backroom of the Crashdown. Four trips later she leaned against the truck catching her breath. Boxes filled with her parent's things were in the bed of the truck. Her duffle bag sat in the passenger seat.

Able to breathe normally again Liz opened the driver's side door, climbed in and started the truck. Late into the night yesterday she realized that she couldn't stay drunk all the time. Being drunk when the detectives came was bad; thankfully they hadn't found her fake id. Assumed the liquor store clerk hadn't checked id and just gave her what she paid for.

Liz wouldn't bring more attention to her by being the happy loopy drunk girl. She decided to do her drinking at night when there was little chase of running into anyone or going anywhere. Wasn't full proof but it kept one piece of gossip out of the cities mouths.

She backed out of the parking lot where her parent's always parked their vehicles and made her way back to the motel. When she got back she'd have to call the detectives and ask them when Mom and Dad's—bodies would be released. She'd have to start planning the funeral. She could hardly wait, she thought sarcastically.

TBC


	11. Chapter 10

Song for Ch 10: It Doesn't Matter by Allison Kraus. This was chosen mostly for the melody but the lyrics fit in spots too.

**Chapter 10**

In a motel room just on the outskirts of Roswell, New Mexico a hunter was finishing dressing up in a costume that would make it easier to get answers for the questions he asked. His ID, which lay on the table, read Pastor Martin Ashby but it was a fake, as was everything else he used to add believability to his character.

After he first got to town he checked out past local newspapers at the library. Turned out there were ten more similar murders around Roswell over the last year and a half. The cops had linked only three of them together while the other seven were classified as separate unsolved crimes. It took a trained demon hunter to find the similarities of each murder.

He straightened his white collar once more and put his ID in the pocket of his black slacks. Most people didn't question a man of the cloth but occasionally there were those few who did and he couldn't be caught without identification. He left the motel room and walked to his car parked outside.

Ros-SPN-Ros-SPN-Ros-SPN

In her motel room Liz sat in an uncomfortable chair staring at the half empty bottle of whiskey from last night. She'd finish the rest tonight, maybe even start on another bottle.

It was a bit before four o'clock in the afternoon and she hadn't moved from her spot at the table since she got back. She called the number the detectives gave her and asked about when her parent's bodies would be released to her so she could bury them.

After they gave her the run around, transferring her to different people and when she finally got the correct person she was placed on hold for close to twenty minutes, they informed her that they hadn't collected all the physical evidence from their bodies. Because of that their bodies probably wouldn't be released for a few months.

Frustrated and angry she hung up on the man and pushed the phone away from her. Since then she'd stared out the window and watched as the sun slid across the sky with each passing hour. An open packet of saltine crackers was next to the bottle of booze. Her stomach couldn't take a variety of food right then, saltines were the only thing staying down in her stomach.

Liz took another cracker out and nibbled on it, not caring in the least about the crumbs falling on her shirt and lap. While she sat there in silence she figured she'd have a memorial service for her parents. Nothing was stopping her from doing that. She wasn't sure what it would entail but she knew she wanted it done soon.

As much as it hurt to think it Roswell wasn't her home anymore. There were too many memories of her parents who had died, friends who had left her, and the reality of strangers who wouldn't stop talking about her and staring at her wondering if she went schizoid and butchered her Mom and Dad. She didn't want to stay any longer than she had to in this town.

Ros-SPN-Ros-SPN-Ros-SPN

Amy Deluca pulled up to the motel Jose told her Liz was residing in during this whole mess. She had heard about the murders of Jeff and Nancy Parker on the radio. It took her a little while to decide on whether she'd make the trip back to Roswell.

She didn't want to stop looking for Maria, not for a single second. Although she didn't have any leads as to where Maria went she couldn't give up. There had been so many false leads, especially in the beginning, that she nearly threw up her hands in frustration and quit. What stopped her was a small sliver of hope that refused to die; she could never give up on finding her daughter.

When she heard the news Amy had only been a few towns over, the radio announcers repeated the story that had to have been on countless news programs. Then during the broadcast the announcers had taken callers some who were sympathetic to Liz and others who thought she killed her parent's.

She was shocked that more tragedy had befallen not only the teenager Maria had been best friends with but also the town of Roswell. Deciding to return to Roswell had been an internal battle with her emotions. On the one hand Maria was out there somewhere; even one day not searching was one day that she couldn't get back. However she saw Liz as a second daughter, she and Maria had been friends for so long that Amy had come to look at her in a motherly fashion. If the situation were reversed she knew…or hoped that Jeff and Nancy would come back for Maria if only for a day to let her know they were there for her.

Having only just arrived in Roswell she went to the Crashdown first but saw that no one was there. Then she went to Jose's home, he greeted her warmly, asked her if she knew what happened, then told her where Liz was hiding out. After a brief talk with Jose she left and went straight to the motel Liz resided in.

Amy climbed the steps to the second floor. Liz was definitely still there, she saw Jeff's truck near the stairs when she pulled into the parking lot. Shoving her car keys in her pockets she knocked on the door and waited for the girl inside to answer.

Ros-SPN-Ros-SPN-Ros-SPN

The sharp rap to her left jolted her out of her stupor. Liz coughed to clear her dry throat and yelled out. "Just a minute." She gathered the liquor and hid it in a drawer next to the bed. Securing it she made her way to the door.

Who the hell could be bothering her at that time in the afternoon? Jose said he wouldn't be able to come by till maybe tomorrow and the detectives were probably leaving her alone right now long enough so she'd to do something stupid. Maybe go on a shopping spree with the millions of dollars her parent's had or even clean out her parent's home of expensive jewelry or electronics.

If that were the case they'd be in for a big surprise. Not only did her parent's not have life insurance policies or bundles of money in the bank, the only things she took from the house were sentimental things and her laptop. Some of her mother's most expensive pieces were still in her jewelry box at home.

Liz unlocked the door and opened it. To say she was surprised at who stood in front of her was an understatement. "Amy?" She had stopped calling Maria's mom Ms. Deluca a long time ago.

"Hi Liz, I figured you could use some company right about now?" Amy didn't move forward and kept her gaze locked on the fragile girl in front of her.

She shook her head, "No—I'm fine."

"Try that again with a little more believability." She then stepped into the room. "It'll be ok. Tell me what you need."

Tears quickly built in Liz's eyes until they were brimming over and falling down her cheeks. "I need my parents." She brought her hands up to her face and cried so hard her entire body shook with tremors.

The mother wrapped her arms around the girl whose emotions flooded out forcefully pass the wall Liz built up during these few days. Amy held her tightly in the open entryway and just let her cry. Sometimes you needed to let someone else handle things and now that she was there she'd do whatever she could to help Liz. The same thing she hoped someone would do for Maria if she ever lost her parent.

TBC

Note: Still 3 chapters left before this one is caught up. I'll be posting those either tonight or early tomorrow morning.


	12. Chapter 11

A.N. The identity of the hunter is finally revealed.

**Chapter 11**

_July 12; 11:00 a.m._

Amy Deluca sat in a chair watching Liz sleep away the day. Over the last three days the girl went through extremes. On the tenth she built up the wall again and refused to break. Liz practically ignored Amy the entire time she was there only answering questions that had a one or two word response.

The next day, the eleventh, she awoke from a nightmare in sweats and curled up in a little ball on the bed crying her heart out. It broke Amy's heart to see the once vivacious and emotionally strong girl crumble. Today she didn't know what to expect from Liz.

She began to straighten up the motel room when two detectives came to the door. They pounded on the door so loudly Amy was afraid it would wake Liz up.

Angry she pulled open the door and stared them down. "Is it too much to ask that you keep your pounding to a minimum?"

Taken aback the male apologized. "We're sorry. Is Elizabeth Parker here?"

"Of course she is but who are you and why do you want to talk to her?" Amy whispered trying her hardest to keep Liz asleep; it was the best thing for her right now.

"I'm Detective Malone; this is my partner Detective Redding. We have her parent's effects, things they had on them when they were killed. We're here to give them to her." Malone said.

"I'm sure she'd like them back. I'll make sure she gets them." She held out her hand for the plastic bags full of the Parker's items.

Malone shook her head. "We'd really like to give them to her ourselves."

"That's not going to happen. She's sleeping and I don't want her to be disturbed. Liz has been through a lot. I'm a family friend; my name is Amy Deluca I'll make sure she gets these." She never dropped her hand held out to take the bag.

Not seeing any other choice Redding handed her the plastic see through Ziploc bag. "We'll be in touch."

"I'm sure you will be." Amy shut the door in their faces and gently set the bag on the table near the window.

Liz opened her eyes as the door closed. "What did they want?" She questioned.

Amy pointed to the table. "To bring you your parent's things. It's what they were wearing when they were killed."

Wincing Liz rose from the bed and walked over to the table. She didn't have the bandage around her ankle anymore; it felt healed enough to walk without it. "About time they brought this over."

"I'm sure they had to go through the items and make sure they wouldn't need them before releasing it to you." Amy reasoned.

The teen chuckled low in her throat. "Or they still think I'm a suspect and didn't want to give me Mom and Dad's things."

"Wait…they consider you a suspect?" Amy asked. She knew some of the locals thought Liz did it but she wasn't aware the police were thinking along that same train of thought.

"Yep. They think I killed them and tore their flesh off and I threw myself down the stairs to throw suspicions off me. Even if it were true it clearly didn't work." Liz laid her palm flat against the clear plastic bag. "The fact that in the event of my parent's deaths everything goes to me didn't exactly prove my innocence to them either."

"Well that's ridiculous." Amy argued, not with Liz but with the idea that she had anything to do with Nancy and Jeff's murders.

"No kidding." She fingered the plastic bag but didn't open it. Breathing in deeply she reached for the hotel phone. "I have to start calling people for the memorial." Amy set up the time and date for the memorial but neither she nor Amy had yet to call family and friends to attend.

"It's mostly taken care of." The older woman told her. "Your address book was out so I called people from your family and the friends I knew about. If there's anyone else you want me to notify I'll happily do that for you."

"Thanks." Liz whispered. It was weird—standing back and letting Amy handle the things she had been resigned to doing alone. "Umm, I'm going to take a shower." Within moments she was behind the closed door and away from Amy's sympathetic gaze.

Ros-SPN-Ros-SPN-Ros-SPN

The hunter stopped his car in front of the Crashdown Café. He knew, from overhearing people talking, that the daughter of Jeff and Nancy Parker wasn't staying there. Sometime after midnight he'd go in and take a look around but first he would talk to people around the business and find out if they heard or saw something the night the Parker's were killed.

Before he set off to look for clues and talk to some of the people in the town however he grabbed a copy of the local paper. A few pages in there was a memorial announcement for the Parker's. Since the bodies wouldn't be released till they gathered all the evidence the daughter couldn't give them a funeral.

The memorial service would be the perfect opportunity to talk to the daughter and other people from the alien themed town. Exiting the vehicle he jogged to a business next door.

Entering the air-conditioned establishment he walked up to the counter and introduced himself…his alias anyway. "Hi, I'm Pastor Martin Ashby. I was curious as to the whereabouts of Elizabeth Parker."

"Nice to meet you Pastor. I'm Ronald Newman." Ronald shook his hand. "I'm sure you've heard about what happened over there right?"

"Yes, that's why I'd like to speak with Elizabeth, let her know that there are people she can turn to for help." He spoke sincerely.

"That's awfully kind of you. Unfortunately I have no idea where she's laying her head. That girl's been off the radar since her folks were killed. Saw her once a couple days ago but that was it."

"Do you know of anyone that I can talk to that might know where she's staying?" He questioned.

"Normally I'd point you to her friends but Liz doesn't exactly have many anymore." Ronald turned toward a customer and rang up her items.

Confused the hunter asked. "What do you mean?"

The teen girl waiting for a total faced him, "Meaning all her friends up and ditched her. Karma at its best." When he nodded at her she continued. "She and I use to be friends. We'd hang out sometimes, eat together at lunch, you know normal friends stuff. Then Liz becomes friends with Michael Guerin, Max and Isabel Evans suddenly I and a few other people weren't good enough to hang out with anymore."

"Do you know what caused this change?" While he had no idea what, if any, importance the issue had it couldn't hurt to learn more.

The girl shrugged her shoulders. "No idea. At first not much changed, there were a couple times she was busy but nothing too drastic. It didn't take long before the excuse of 'I have something else to do' clearly meant 'I don't want to hang out with you anymore and why can't you take the hint'. A couple months ago her new and the few old friends she kept left Roswell…didn't even tell her they were leaving." The girl paid and left the store.

Ronald gave his full attention back to the Pastor. "Basically if you're looking for her friends you'll have a hard time finding them. However you might want to try Jose Hernandez, he's stopped by the Crashdown a couple times since the murders and is close to Liz. He'd probably know where she is."

The hunter held out his hand and shook Ronald's. "Well thank you for the help sir."

"Not a problem." Ronald waved as he left the store.

He walked to his car, got in, and started the engine. Instead of leaving he pulled into the back parking lot of the Crashdown. While he knew he should wait to break in and take a look around he couldn't do much until he spoke with Elizabeth Parker. Since it was quite likely she saw who attacked her parents.

The reports said she was thrown down the stairs and she had a little bit of her parent's blood on her clothes and the bottom of her shoes. To cause the kind of damage he saw at the morgue it had to be a supernatural being but what he didn't know.

While he hoped it would be vampires the amount of damage done to the Parker's bodies was far too much for any vampire kill. He also found a hair imbedded in a wound that he took as evidence. He called in a hunter contact of his and sent the hair sample to him.

Although it wasn't vampires he wouldn't stop working the case. Every supernatural being needed to be put down and he was just the man to do it.

His phone vibrated in his pocket. He pulled it out and put it to his ear. "Hello?" He greeted.

"Hey Gordon. It's Eric."

"Did you get the hair sample?"

"Yes I did. You were right it's not vampires." He confirmed.

"Then what is it?"

"Werewolf."

TBC


	13. Chapter 12 A,B,C,D & E

**Chapter 12 A**

_July 15; 8:00 a.m._

Liz stared at herself in the mirror outside the bathroom. As she buttoned up her white blouse her hands shook. Today was the day of Mom and Dad's memorial.

Ever since Amy came back Liz had been on a roller coaster of emotions. Before Amy came she'd been depressed, angry, sometimes numb or drunk. However having Amy there made her feel safe enough to let go of some of the emotions that she had bottled up. She cried more in these last few days then she had the first couple days after her parent's death.

Amy called Sean Deluca; yesterday, after he arrived, he got the available room next to hers. Liz wasn't sure why Amy called Sean but she was grateful to have another person there to support her.

She continued to stare at her reflection. Her face looked like she got severely sunburned, all red and sore from crying. She would have laughed if she weren't so sad. At least her bloodshot red eyes matched her face.

Standing back from the mirror she straightened her black suit jacket and smoothed out the matching black knee length skirt. In her mind she could almost hear Dad tell her how pretty she looked and she could almost feel Mom wrap a supportive arm around her shoulders and tell her that a girl as a pretty as her shouldn't be crying so much.

Slowly with carefully thought out movements she put on a pair of her mother's favorite earrings. Feeling for the holes in her ears she pushed the metal part through and clasped it tight. A memory came flooding to the surface as she put the second earring in. Mom had taken her and Maria to get their ears pierced. The two girls had been ten and Amy had given the ok to Mom to have Maria go as well. Liz had watched her mother like a hawk, if Mom had even flinched once she wouldn't have gotten her ears pierced that afternoon.

Tears well up but she brushed them away quickly. She didn't want to cry anymore.

Coughing passed the lump in her throat she reached for the bag that the police sent over with her parent's things, the items they wore during their murder…or at least the items they could get the blood out of. Two days ago she purchased a nice 14 ct. gold chain necklace. It cost a pretty penny, even with the discount that was going on that day at the jewelry store but in the end it was worth it. She wasn't going to put her parent's wedding bands on some cheap necklace.

Amy had been with her when she purchased it. Maria's Mom asked if it was a good idea to be spending that kind of money, especially when the police were looking for any reason to pin the murders on her.

She only shrugged and told Amy that she didn't care what they thought. The money didn't come out of any life insurance policies because Mom and Dad didn't have life insurance. The money came out of her account; the money was a portion of what she had saved over the years of working in the Crashdown, with Congress Woman Whittaker, and birthday money.

So there she was with an expensive necklace lying in front of her on the counter and her parent's wedding rings in a Ziploc™ bag. She opened the bag and reached in grabbing the rings.

As her fingertips touched the cool metal flashes assaulted her mind. She fell to her knees holding onto the counter tightly with one hand praying for the vision to stop but not having the sense of mind to let go of her parent's rings. The creature she saw before on that fateful night stood close to her height, it seemed wrong, she wasn't that tall…in the vision she could hear her mother's voice yell as she became immersed in the nightmare.

"_Nancy no, stay back—" The monster in front of me growled and snapped. _

"_Jeff!" Nancy screamed. _

_Before I could grab an object that could become a weapon the powerful body slammed me to the ground. My shout of pain and surprise was cut off and changed to a gurgle by large jaws quickly clamping around my neck. I feel the sizable teeth sink into my flesh like butter; I feel the warm wetness of my blood and the monsters saliva._

_Pain stabbed through my body its claws dug into my chest while it silenced me. _

_I could hear Nancy screaming. Screaming so loud. I try to tell her to run but all that escapes is a moist, garbled sound of me trying to breathe. _

"_Liz!" _

"_Liz!" _

_I feel someone—_

"LIZ!"

Her vision cleared. The presence in front of her held her hand, the same hand that had touched the rings. "Amy?" She gasped out.

"Yes honey it's me." Amy had a large bath towel wrapped around her middle as she kneeled on the floor next to Liz. "What happened? Are you ok?"

She had been in her father's mind as that thing killed him. She pushed back her dark brunette hair and gripped it tightly at the back of her head. It didn't happen until she touched the rings. Why did she get visions when she touched certain items or people but not others?

The blood, she felt it slide down her neck and pool beneath her head. She felt the hot lance of pain as the teeth sliced through her flesh. She almost grabbed at her neck to make sure she was still physically in tact.

Currently her hand was being squeezed and held onto by Amy but she had yet to receive a flash or vision. What was happening to her? Was this alien…or was it something else?

Amy continued to stare at her oddly but with concern. What could she tell her, what should she tell her?

"I just…" Liz took a deep breath but exhaled it with difficulty. She swallowed trying to block out the picture and the experience she just went through. "I was remembering moments with Mom and Dad and it was too much." Her breath hitched.

"Oh honey." Amy gathered the shivering girl in her arms and rubbed her back. "It'll be ok. I know it doesn't seem like it now but in the future you'll be able to remember moments with your parent's without it being painful. It takes time though."

Amy helped her off the floor and waited till she was steady enough to stand on her own. "I'll be ok. Sorry I broke down like that." She apologized.

"It's ok. Don't worry about that. Break down if you need too." Amy comforted. "Are you going to be all right while I get dressed in the bathroom?"

Liz nodded quickly but didn't say anything. With one more squeeze of her hand Amy gathered her clothes and disappeared into the bathroom.

As soon as the door clicked shut, Liz fell back down onto her knees fighting the nausea bubbling in her stomach. She covered her mouth and kept the scream that was lodged in her throat from escaping.

Slowly she stood back up and leaned against the counter. "Relax. Breathe Liz." She spoke to her reflection. "You're going to be ok." She'd deal with the visions later. Right now she had Mom and Dad's memorial; she'd deal with the vision afterward.

A knock at her hotel door snapped her out of her self encouragement. One more deep breath and she pushed away from the counter.

She had a feeling she knew who was on the other side of the door. Two people that she really didn't want to see but had no choice. They were family after all. She wished her favorite Aunt had been able to come. Aunt Tricia wouldn't be able to reach Roswell in time for the memorial. She was in Egypt and hadn't gotten the message that Jeff and Nancy had died until yesterday. Right now she was probably on a plane headed back but she wouldn't make the memorial.

However, much to Liz's chagrin, her other Aunt, Aunt Ruth and her daughter Melissa were able to come. Mom's sister who they hadn't spoken to in years for many reasons was of course able to come. Ruth didn't give a damn about Mom; Liz was sure the only reason why she and her daughter were there was to find out if they got anything in the will. They would be deeply disappointed at the reading of the will today.

With little emotion she opened her hotel room door. Standing on the other side was a rail thin woman, long red hair so similar to Mom's, wearing a long black dress that covered her nearly head to toe. Ruth stared at her with artificial sweetness.

"Liz." Ruth clasped a hand over her black heart in a show of theatrics. "It's horrible. Simply horrible. Nancy was so wonderful." Her voice, although soft and seemingly caring, grated on her last nerve. This was the woman that tried to sink her claws into Dad shortly before he and Mom started going out. Once Dad saw Mom he didn't want anyone else but old Ruthy couldn't stand that and went to great lengths to break them up.

Of course a few years later Ruth feigned an apology, saying that she was only worried about her and Jeff's bad past, but Mom never completely forgave her sister. Even as a child Liz could tell there was tension between the two whenever Aunt Ruth visited. Not long before she turned ten Mom and Ruth had a huge argument. What about, she didn't know but whatever the argument was they hadn't spoken to each other since.

Standing next to her horrible mother was her slightly younger cousin, Melissa. Melissa tended to take after Ruth. "Hello Liz." A smirk briefly showed but as if she realized that a smirk wasn't proper she quickly got rid of it.

She skipped over greeting them. "I thought we were meeting at the memorial." Although they had been invited to the memorial that didn't mean she wanted to spend any more time with them than necessary. She still hadn't moved away from the door, not letting the two vultures in.

"Yes, that was the plan. But this is such a sad occasion that I hoped we would be able to talk. Both Nancy and Jeff were very dear to me. We had a falling out but I had hoped to fix that." Ruth explained.

Liz heard loud and clear what Ruth didn't say. While her parent's weren't rich by any stretch of the imagination they did have some valuable items. Items that when Grandma Marilyn died she gave them to Mom, items that Ruth thought would now go to her. In order to have a higher chance of getting those valuables Ruth had to play nice with her sister's daughter.

"Fine." She stood aside and let her Aunt and cousin into the hotel room. Just because she was allowing them in and letting them say what they wanted to didn't mean anything. It would only cause a larger headache then the one she currently had to argue with them. Let the fun begin.

TBC

Note: I don't know what goes on at a will reading besides the reading of the will and I don't know the standard way it's done so if how I wrote it isn't correct just brush it off as writer's prerogative.

**Chapter 12 B**

Liz closed the door behind them and sat at the chair next to the window. Her injuries over the last couple days had healed considerably. She still had pain in her ribs and her wrist was still broken but the physical pain had lessened somewhat.

Aunt Ruth sniffed delicately as she took in the room her niece was staying in. "Well…this is a quaint little room."

She rolled her eyes. No the room wasn't Caesar's Palace but it wasn't a bad room. It was cheap and it fit her needs which sounded damn good from where she sat. Liz clasped her hands over her stomach. "Having a five star room wasn't exactly on my priority list. It has a bed, it has a bathroom…it even has a mini-fridge, really I'm set."

"Of course dear. I didn't mean anything by it." Ruth tried to backtrack.

"Yes you did." Liz stared straight at her until her Aunt dropped her gaze. Yea, she had hoped she'd be able to feign a little politeness to her relatives but apparently that was too difficult for her to do.

Melissa opened her mouth to say something but the door to bathroom opening stopped her.

"Liz? Is everything alright I heard voices." Amy left the room and saw two extra people in the room. "Hello. Who are you?"

"Well, I'm Liz's Aunt. Ruth Currie and this is my daughter Melissa Currie. And who are you?"

"Amy Deluca. Close friend of the family's." She didn't offer her hand in greeting.

"Well, I've never heard of you but I appreciate you taking care of my darling niece but her family's here now. We'll see you at the memorial."

Amy nodded but didn't move from her spot. "You might not have heard of me but I've heard of you."

Liz felt a smile creeping onto her lips. Amy against Ruth, she knew who she'd place her bets on. Her friend's mother could clearly see what Aunt Ruth was trying to do. A hit on the head would have been a subtler approach.

Amy crossed her arms and squared off against the thin woman. "See I know about you and the fallout between you and Liz's mother. I know about how you wanted Jeff all to yourself. I know that Jeff wouldn't give you the time of day." She glared at the woman in front of her, sizing her up and finding her unimpressive. "That young woman over there is like my own child. I've seen that girl grow up right along side mine. I'm family. You're a spiteful bitch that's sniffing around because you want something. Get out of this hotel room before I throw you out."

Liz lowered her head and her body shook. Aunt Ruth noticed and misinterpreted her motions.

"See what you've done? That girl is on the verge of an emotional breakdown and you just made it worse. Clearly Liz needs us. Not you."

Amy glanced at Liz who had straightened her spine and was now fighting the giggles that were trying to erupt from her chest. "Yea? I'd look at her again."

Ruth turned and saw the glee clearly.

"Oh my God." Liz waved a hand in front of her face do her best but failing miserably to dry her tears of utter joy. "I haven't enjoyed anything that much in days."

"Stop laughing." Melissa stomped her foot on the carpet.

"Oh yea that will make me stop." Liz laughed so hard she snorted which only made her break down in another round of giggles. It hurt her ribs just a smidge but it felt so good to be merry again. She would hold onto the feeling for as long as she possibly could.

In a huff Ruth grabbed Melissa's arm and dragged her out the hotel room. Frankly Liz was surprised she hadn't snapped back with some mean, rude comment.

Amy smirked. "Well, it's nice to see you laugh again."

Still chuckling a little Liz nodded. "It felt good to laugh again." She didn't tell Amy that it's unlikely to happen much more. After the reading of the will, which was scheduled soon after the memorial, she was leaving Roswell. She didn't want to be in this town anymore, it was too painful.

"Ready to go sweetie?" Amy picked up her clutch and smoothed her dress.

Liz tilted her head in a half-hearted way. "As ready as I'll ever be." She whispered as she stood, she grabbed her bag and took one last look around the hotel room. Besides a couple things she'd grab at the hotel and the Crashdown after the will reading everything else she brought to the hotel was packed away in the back of Dad's truck. She was really leaving and nothing would change her mind.

Ros-SPN-Ros-SPN-Ros-SPN

_Memorial_

"Looks like everyone's here already." Sean quietly told Liz.

She leaned against Amy's car and stared out into the park where the memorial service was being held. "Looks like." Ruth and Melissa were there, of course, as were friends of her parents, and various people who just wanted to pay their respects.

"Are you ready sweetie?" Amy gently questioned.

No. "Yes." Sean placed a hand on the small of her back and helped her take that first step forward.

All eyes were on her as she walked to the front where she, Amy, and Sean would be sitting. She barely noticed their stares. Barely heard their whispered questions or statements to each other.

Once they reached the three empty chairs, the Father of the church her family went too stepped forward and took her hand. Not a single flash was given. For that Liz was grateful.

"On behalf of me and the church, we are very sorry for your loss Miss. Parker." He squeezed her hand gently in condolence.

She nodded and said, "Thank you." What more could be said?

With that he released her hand. Sean again pressed lightly on her lower back; at any other time she might think he was staking his claim on her. Both Max and Kyle would put their hands on her back when they were dating her, saying 'this girl is mine'. It didn't bother her, she's sure she had ways of telling the female population that Kyle or Max were hers too. Hmm, she hadn't thought about them or anybody else for their group in a surprisingly long time…or maybe it just felt like a long time.

The last time she remembered thinking about any of them for a significant amount of time was the day before her parent's murder. It wasn't really that long ago—it seemed like it though. The only person she had more than a passing thought about was Maria and that was only because Amy was there.

When she broke out of her thoughts, she was already seated in the middle of Amy and Sean and the priest was already half way done with the memorial. He talked for another twenty minutes. While she paid attention for those last twenty minutes she would never be able to remember what was said, even when her grief became less than it was now she still wouldn't remember the sweet words that were said about her parents. She knew they were sweet because Amy had an expression of serenity and utter agreement.

Before long Father Clark finished and people began to come up to Liz and offer condolences. She shook hands with everybody who came. Some she received flashes from but most were, thankfully, flash free. She didn't think too hard on why that was or even what she saw in those brief flashes.

Then a man came up to her that, one she had never seen before. Normally that wouldn't catch her attention but in a sea of familiar faces this stranger stood out.

"Miss Parker?" The man held out his hand, he wore a priest's outfit and came across as welcoming and sincere but there was something behind his deep brown eyes that sent a shiver down her spine.

"Yes?" Liz shook his hand in return. Instantly she was flooded with the image of blood and severed heads. As soon as she could she let go.

"I'm Pastor Martin Ashby."

Liz nodded but didn't say anything. What was there to say? It wasn't exactly nice to meet him, not after the images she saw. But it's not as if she could mention, hey, when I shook your hand I saw you cutting heads off of people and washing off the blood in the shower? Somehow she didn't think that'd go over too well.

"I've been trying to get a hold of you for a couple days now. I'd only been in town for a week when I heard about the tragedy. I want to offer my sincerest sympathies and I was hoping you'd consider talking with me, I'd be willing to help you through this awful time."

Liz swallowed. That would require being alone with him and that was something she would never do. She closed her eyes and shook her head. "That's incredibly nice of you but if I need to talk to someone I already have a therapist and I'm not even talking to her right now so I won't be talking to you."

She saw a brief glimpse of what lay beneath the man's carefully constructed mask but it was covered quickly. "Well, if you ever need anything, please don't hesitate to call this number." He pulled out a pad of paper and wrote down a number.

Again Liz nodded in agreement, although she had no intention of calling him, ever.

"We've got to go Liz; the will reading is in a half hour." Amy mentioned.

"Right." Thank you Amy. "It was nice to meet you." Although not really. The trio left the Pastor in the park.

Ros-SPN-Ros-SPN-Ros-SPN

_Lawyer's Office/Will reading_

Liz sat with her two relatives in the office of Adam Jones, attorney at law. He would be reading the will to them. Amy and Sean waited outside in the hall, since they weren't a part of the will or family they weren't allowed in the room.

"It's good to see you again Miss Parker. It's a shame it had to be under these circumstances of course." Mr. Jones shook her hand and amazingly she didn't get a flash from him.

She didn't say a word, only nodded in agreement. Mr. Jones introduced himself to her Aunt and cousin and shook their hands as well.

"Ok, why don't we get to the reason you're here." He moved behind his desk to the filing cabinet and pulled out her parent's file.

Out of the corner of her eye she could practically see the drool coming out of her Aunt's mouth. A part of her wanted to smack the anticipation right off her face, her parents were dead and all Ruth could think of was getting her hands on items that would never be hers.

"All right." Mr. Jones opened the file and began to read the first few standard paragraphs. A few minutes later he began to read off who got what. "Now Liz although this is a joint will, your parents do have separate sections for certain things."

Liz nodded. "Ok." She knew that already. There wasn't much that she didn't know about their will. She knew Aunt Tricia, Dad's sister, got some things. Amazingly so did Aunt Ruth—although she wouldn't be too thrilled with what she got.

"Jeffrey Elijah Parker leaves to his sister, Tricia Leigh Parker: Their father's journals, which are kept in the safety deposit box. Their parent's wedding rings. His action figure collection…"

He's cut off by Liz joyous laugh. "She's going to love that." She told him sincerely. Aunt Tricia always teased Dad about the action figure's that he started collecting at as a teen. It would warm her heart to have that piece of her brother.

"Yes, Jeff mentioned that she would get a kick out of that." He commented then continued naming a few more items that would go to Tricia. "Next Nancy Louise Parker leaves to her sister, Ruth Jane Currie—"

Liz saw Ruth stand up a little straighter, it was her turn. "Good, I'm glad she put me in there. After all I've done for her I deserve something." Ruth snorted out.

Mr. Jones stumbled in his words for a moment. He could hardly believe the utter lack of tact on the part of his former client's sister. Unfortunately she wasn't the first relative to only care about things and money, what's even sadder was that she wouldn't be the last either.

"Y-Yes." He slowly let out. "As I was saying. Ruth Jane Currie receives, five thousand dollars and a t-shirt. If you try to sue for more than what this will grants you will receive nothing. No money, but you can keep the t-shirt." He pulled out a package from his desk and handed it to her.

Angrily Ruth rips open the package and pulls out the article of clothing inside. She opened up the shirt and shrieked with fury at what was printed on the front. She shot up out of her chair. "All I get is a lousy five thousand dollars and-and this piece of shit shirt? This is an outrage."

"Nancy wanted to make sure you got just enough so no one could say that you were cheated and didn't get anything. However she also wanted to make sure that you didn't get anything of importance." Mr. Jones explained coolly.

"And what about their precious daughter. What does she get?" Ruth fumed.

Mr. Jones looked directly into Liz's eyes and spoke with warmth. "Everything else. Elizabeth Claudia Parker gets the Crashdown, the cars, the home above the Crashdown. She gets all the items in the home and all the items, except what has been previously mentioned, in the safety deposit box. She gets the rest of the money."

Melissa stood up next to her mother and stared down at the attorney. "Even the items that were my grandmother's? Those are valuable pieces that should go to my mother and me."

Liz stayed seated and rested her head against her palm. She had expected this kind of outburst from the both of them. Just because she expected it though didn't mean she was ok with it but to argue with them would only make the production larger and louder. So she opted to stay quiet and let the lawyer handle it.

"Those items were given to Nancy. From what was mentioned you," He indicated to Ruth, "got the other half of those items, which you sold for a pretty penny if I'm not mistaken."

Ruth at least had enough shame to lower her gaze.

"The items that Nancy has, were for her to do with what she wanted. She's giving them to Elizabeth. If she wants to sell them she is welcome too. If she wants to keep them, again she is welcome too. If Elizabeth wants to throw them on the floor and tap dance on them she can. The point is, they are not yours."

With an angry stomp of her foot, Ruth threw down the t-shirt and took the check of five thousand dollars the lawyer held out to her. Neither she nor Melissa spared one glance toward Liz as they stormed out.

Once the duo left Liz picked up the shirt. She opened it and read the phrase out loud. "My sister just died and all I got was this lousy t-shirt."

Liz giggled. Mom had a mean streak in her.

TBC

**Chapter 12 C**

_Park; 30 minutes earlier_

Gordon or Pastor Ashby as he was going by in Roswell, watched with anger as the young Miss Parker left the Park where the memorial was held. If those other two weren't with her he might have been able to…persuade more answers out of her.

There's something—off about Miss Parker. He saw her flinch when she shook his hand. Wasn't much but to a trained hunter like him it set off alarm bells. What was the seemingly innocent teen hiding?

As he was leaving the park his phone rang.

"Yes?" He spoke into the receiver.

"It's Eric. I've found a couple more deaths all taking place during the full moon cycle and they've all been within a mile of the Crashdown Café."

"How accurate is this information." Gordon asked.

Eric snorted over the phone. "Very accurate. When have I ever given you wrong information?" He asked insulted.

"Never, but I always like to make sure." Now he had a valid reason to check out Elizabeth Parker more closely. Was the daughter a werewolf? "Thanks for the info." He hung up with saying goodbye. Let's see if he couldn't get the teen to talk.

Ros-SPN-Ros-SPN-Ros-SPN

_Post Will Reading_

Liz pulled up to a home she hadn't been to or seen in two years. Slowing to a stop next to the curb she took a moment to go over what she'd say. There was a possibility—actually a certainty that who she was there to see wouldn't do much more than slam the door in her face, but she couldn't not try.

She left the cool safety of Dad's truck, which she picked up from the hotel after the will reading, and made her way to the front door. Liz rapped her knuckles against the wooden door three times.

Earlier she told Amy and Sean of her plans to leave Roswell; they wished she wouldn't but Amy more than anyone knew that Liz needed to get away, to find herself again. So Liz cleared out the rest of her things, paid for the hotel room and told Amy she was going to the Crashdown and if she could meet her there in an hour and a half. Amy agreed curious as to why she wanted to meet there.

As she stood there the door in front of her opened a bit. "Liz?" Shirley Matthews questioned, surprised to see her standing on her porch.

"Shirley." She greeted simply.

Shirley quickly gathered her shock and surprise hiding it from her. She opened the front door completely but replaced the open space with her defensive body. "What do you want Liz?"

She appreciated her former friend not stating everything she wanted too. There was no doubt in her mind that she had much more to say but held her tongue. She stood strong against Shirley's hurt. She knew she had no right to even ask what she was but that wouldn't stop her. "I know I'm the last person you want to see."

Shirley shrugged and tilted her head just so. "Then why are you here?"

"I need a favor."

The teen in front of her laughed sarcastically. "Really? You need a favor?" Shirley crossed her arms and splayed her feet. "And what makes you think I'm going to help you with anything?"

"I'll pay you." Liz stated firmly. "I know I'm the last person you want around, I get it. But you are the only person I know who can draw worth a damn and draw fast."

Shirley visually took in the desperate girl on her doorstep. Sadness seeped from every pore of Liz's body. The tightened mouth and steely eyes showed a girl trying to be strong but the small tick at the corner of her mouth gave away how close she was to breaking.

She breathed in and looked toward the sky briefly. "This is about your parent's isn't it?"

Liz twitched but didn't say a word. That was all Shirley needed to know, Liz wouldn't be here if it had something to do with anything else.

"I don't like you Liz. And I don't want your money. You were a good friend and then out of the blue you went away and cared about nothing but yourself and your new group of friends."

Liz swallowed hard. Yea, she knew exactly how much of a crappy friend she'd been to Shirley and a few others once the aliens came into her life. The alien's problems took over and she allowed them too because she loved Max so much and she cared about what happened to him, Isabel, and Michael. And she knew that Shirley wouldn't want to help her but she couldn't accept that…

"Despite that though, I will help you."

She looked at the red-head in shock. Shirley was going to help her? "Thank you."

"I'm not doing it for you. I liked your parents. They were good people and I can't imagine what you're going through. So I'll help you but this is the only favor I'll do for you." She told her leaving no room for misinterpretation.

"It's the only favor I'll need."

Shirley backed away from the open door and with false gusto waved her hand to motion Liz in. "So what can I do for you? You mentioned my drawing skills."

She nodded. "I need you to draw something that I saw. I'll describe it—obviously."

"Something?" Shirley questioned.

Damn, she caught the slip up. What she saw murder her parents was a something, not a someone. "Yea." She didn't bother denying the use of the word, Shirley would find out soon enough that what she was describing wasn't exactly human.

Sighing Shirley grabbed her sketch pad and gestured for Liz to sit on the couch. "Let's get started then."

Ros-SPN-Ros-SPN-Ros-SPN

An hour later Liz finished with her description of the thing that killed her family. Shirley looked at what she drew. "Are you sure this is it?"

Liz took the drawing and studied it. "Yes." Whatever it was had a human type body but it was larger than the average human, and its face was not exactly human either. The snout was more pronounced, its teeth had an underbite with sharp razor fangs, hair covered it face and hands. The hands claw like and insanely sharp. When it hit her she felt how easily her shirt and skin sliced beneath the sharpened fingernails.

"That doesn't look like…" Shirley brought her out of her memory with her unfinished statement.

"I know." She curtly snapped. "Thanks for your help." She folded the drawing and put it in her purse.

She was half way to the door before Shirley shook off her shock at being dismissed so quickly and followed after her. "Whoa wait a minute. That's it?"

She didn't turn around till she reached the front door and had it open. "Yea, that's pretty much it. I asked you for a favor. You delivered. Like I said, thank you. Our business is done." Liz didn't say anything more, she turned around, leaving the front door open and made a bee line for her truck.

As she pulled away from the curb she heard Shirley yell out 'bitch'. Yea, that she was, she used Shirley and then left, at least she thanked her though. She didn't want emotional attachments not to new friends and certainly not to former ones. She didn't want former friends to comfort her or feel pity for her. All she wanted now was to disappear and never come back.

TBC

End Note: Werewolves in this fic look a little different than the [i]Supernatural[/i] werewolves.

**Chapter 12 D**

_1:00 p.m.; Crashdown, Upstairs_

It wasn't difficult at all for Gordon to open the door to the Crashdown restaurant or the door to the upstairs apartment. For the last twenty minutes he had been painstakingly searching through the apartment and so far had found nothing of importance.

There was nothing that he could find, so far, that gave the impression that the Parker girl or her family had any knowledge of the supernatural world, let alone any proof they were werewolves themselves. Even in the girl's room he couldn't find anything, some things were missing though, if the collection of dust was any indication. She might have taken things that could point to paranormal knowledge. There was one more place to look through, and that was outside on her balcony.

Gordon opened up the window and stepped out. From his initial look, nothing seemed out of the ordinary, a lawn chair lay off to the side, with a blanket tossed haphazardly across the back of the lawn chair. Christmas lights were strewn along the edge of the balcony and over his head; although they weren't on he could imagine what it would like out here at night.

As with many of his searches he started at the wall. More than once there had been something hidden behind a brick wall…or any wall for that matter. He ran his hands over the bumps and dips and cracks of the red brick. Nothing on the first wall, however the second wall he checked was a different story.

Feeling a loose brick he worked at it for a couple seconds till it came out. What lay behind there was, what could very well be, the jackpot mother load. Or it could be the boring thoughts and fantasies of a teenage girl. What lay behind that wall? A journal.

_1:10 p.m.; Crashdown; Out Front_

Liz pulled up to the back alley of the Crashdown and parked her father's truck. This would be the last time, for a long time anyway, that she would be in this alley. The last time she would be going into the restaurant and upstairs to the place that had once been her home.

Sighing she opened her door and got out. Amy should be there momentarily. As soon as that thought crossed her mind two cars pulled up. One was Amy's car, another was Jose's. She saw him at the memorial but besides a hug when everyone was walking by they hadn't had a chance to talk.

She walked out of the alley and to the front of the Crashdown waiting for the three people to leave the cars.

"I had to tell Jose you were leaving." Amy told her.

She nodded, understanding why. Jose had been such a huge part of both her and Maria's life for years, it would be wrong to not say goodbye to him. Especially knowing how great he had been to her these last few days.

"So you weren't even going to tell me you were leavin'?" Jose teased gently.

She smiled sadly. "I was, on my way out of town. I would have stopped by." And she would have. She had learned a very valuable lesson over the last couple months. People leave and people die. If there's an opportunity to say goodbye or I care about you, take it. Never know if it'll be the last chance to do so. She wished she had been able to tell her parents once more how much they mattered, none of the guilt or the pain would be lessened but at least she could say said more than 'I'll be home later Dad'. She usually said 'I love you' after a phone call to her parents, that night she didn't.

Jose came closer and wrapped her in a hug. The collar of his light blue jean jacket brushed against her cheek. As he held her she made certain not to touch any part of his skin. She didn't want to risk getting another weird flash and falling onto her knees. "If you need anything, don't hesitate to call me. I don't care where you are, I'll be there in a hot second."

She closed her eyes and savored the friendly embrace. It was what she needed at that moment. "Thank you Jose."

Pulling back he looked up at the building behind them. "Are you going to need any help with anything? You can't be healed enough to take what you want downstairs."

Liz shrugged one shoulder. "I'll be fine. I got most of what I needed when I came here a couple days ago."

Jose gave her a half-smile, one more hug, and a wink. "Take care of yourself little one. I'd stay longer but the wife needs her chocolate." With a wave he got back in his vehicle and left.

"Wait you already came back here?" Amy questioned.

"Yea. I needed some things and I didn't really want to buy all new things so I came back here." Liz explained.

"By yourself?" Sean finally spoke up from his spot next to Amy. "Liz you shouldn't have—you shouldn't have been alone, not for this."

She pushed back the hair falling in front of her face and held it behind her with one fisted hand. "Maybe I shouldn't have but I did. It wasn't the best experience of my life but it's something I had to do." Honestly there hadn't been anyone she could call.

At that point Amy and Sean hadn't been in Roswell and Jose was taking care of his pregnant, about ready to pop, wife. There hadn't been anyone to call.

Sean sighed. He clearly had more to say but decided to keep his mouth shut. "So why did you ask us to meet you here if it wasn't to get some of the things from upstairs?"

"Since I'm not going to be in Roswell for a while I'm going to need some help with a few things." She smoothed out her skirt, trying to keep her hands busy. "Mostly I just need you to sell some things for me."

Amy shared a glance with Sean. She could see the gears turning in their heads, wondering why they were being asked to sell anything. They were wondering how long she planned to be away from Roswell.

"Ok. What things?" Amy asked.

"Mom's car. I'm taking Dad's truck and her car is just going to be sitting here for…" She paused, how long [i]_would[/i]_ she be gone? "Probably for a while." She finished softly. "And even when I do come back I'll be driving Dad's truck so it'd just be a waste not to sell it."

She pressed her lips together forming a thin line. There were two more major things that she wanted to sell…well wanted might not be the best word, needed might be better.

"Also if you could sell the Crashdown and the apartment above it. That would be a big help." She spit out quickly.

"Ok, I'm calling a time out here." Sean raised his hands into the classic 'timeout' signal. "Your Mom's car I get—but the Crashdown? This is your home, your legacy, the business your parent's worked so hard for. You're just going to sell it?"

"It's not my home." She spoke through clenched teeth. It hurt to say those words but that didn't mean they weren't true. The Crashdown was not her home anymore. It never could be again.

"What are you talking about? Of course it's your home. Just like Roswell will always be your home." Sean argued. Amy put a hand on his forearm to try and get him to back off but he wouldn't.

Liz breathed out a shaky pain filled chuckle. "No. It's really not. Maybe Roswell will someday be my home again. But this place?" She pointed to the double doors that still had hundreds of hand prints on it from the many sick people in this town who wanted a glimpse at a murder scene. "This place will never be my home again. Every time I look at this place my heart is ripped out."

"I know it's that way now. But someday you'll be able to look at it and smile and remember the good times here." Sean tried to grab a hold of her arms but she scurried away not wanting his touch.

She shook her head negatively. Tears flooded her eyes threatening to fall at any second. "No. I won't. My parent's are what made this place a home. Their laughter and their smells and their jokes and their love. I can't stand to be here and know that they were taken away from me here. Every time I'd walk passed those stairs and that door I'd see their mangled, bloody bodies. I'd see the thing that took them away." Her voice became so quiet Sean and Amy almost couldn't hear her words.

Sean stepped forward to take her in his arms but Liz backed up quickly not wanting his comfort. She wiped furiously at the tears that leaked out. Stop crying. She ordered herself.

"Liz—" Sean started but she sliced her hand through the air cutting him off.

"I don't care if you don't approve of me selling this place." She stared at him with contempt. "It's not your decision. This is just a building to me now. The only thing it represents to me is pain." She straightened her spine facing both Sean and Amy with a steely determination. "Amy if you don't want to or can't do this, then I need to make plans for someone else to. Either way this place is being sold."

There was the option of her staying in town for a few more weeks to get everything sold but she couldn't stand this town any more. Never mind the people who stared at her constantly curious if the rumors about her being her parent's murderer was true. Everywhere she looked she thought of Mom and Dad, her friends who left her without telling her anything, and of course Alex, the best friend who died in a car crash…or committed suicide depending on who was telling the story that week.

"No, I'll do it for you. I'll also sell the car for you. What do you want me to do with the money and the left over things in the apartment?"

"Aunt Amy, you can't let her…"

Amy shook her head at her nephew. "It's not our decision. She'll do it with or without our help."

Liz tilted her head slightly in thanks for Amy understanding that this was inevitable. It'd happen just depended on who did it for her. "Storage unit. I've paid for a large one for a year. Anything that's in the apartment just put in there. I've also called a couple moving companies." She dug into her purse and handed Amy the list of numbers she compiled.

Amy took the piece of paper from Liz's hand. "When did you have time to do this? I've been with you for almost every second of the day these last few days."

"When you went to grab dinner last night I called and set things up. I'll send you the papers you'll need in the mail for the car and the building. Are you sure you can do this Amy?"

"Of course I can. Why do you ask?"

She swallowed past the lump in her throat. "You're still looking for Maria. This will cut into that." She twisted her hand around two of her fingers, nerves forcing her to move at least a little. Maria was a touchy subject to bring up with Amy. She had information that Amy desperately needed but she hadn't the guts to tell her anything. All Amy knew was that no one told her they were going, which was the only true statement she could give her friend's mother.

Amy licked her lips. "There hasn't been any leads in nearly a month, I can take a few weeks and do this for you. I always have one of my two cell phones on and I check my e-mail everyday for information. Plus if Maria is going to show up anywhere it'd be Roswell. So I'll be staying put for a little while."

"Thank you Amy. I've also given you my cell number, so when you have money from the sale I'll give you a P.O. Box number to send the check too." She explained.

She turned with her eyes closed to face the building behind her. Preparing for the blow that would no doubt come once she set her gaze on it. A few seconds pass and she's ready to look at the brick and glass in front of her. Slowly, aware of every millimeter, she opened her brown eyes and stared at the building in silence.

"Are you sure you don't want company up there?" Amy asked her voice sounded so far away but Liz still heard her.

"No, I want to do this alone." Like she'd have to do everything else as soon as she left this town. That wasn't completely true; Amy was doing her a huge favor by selling the things she asked to be sold. Maybe she should tell Amy where Maria was, maybe then she wouldn't be so worried.

As soon as she thought it though she tossed the notion aside. Not only would Amy still be worried about Maria, she'd be more worried about her daughter's friend's sanity. Amy would no doubt be wondering if Nancy and Jeff's murder had finally made her go nuts. What rational thinking human being would believe that their daughter went to a distant planet instead of that daughter running away and still being on planet Earth?

"All right. Sean and I are going to go. I'll start calling these numbers and schedule the earliest time the movers can come." Amy stood behind Liz and put her hands on her shoulders. "If you need anything—call me." Amy gently turned her around so they'd be face to face. "I mean it. You're like another child to me. If you need me I'll be there. Take care of yourself, Liz." She gathered her in her embrace and hugged her close.

Although she hadn't gotten a flash from Amy at all during her visit she didn't want to risk getting one, so as with Jose she made sure not to touch any exposed skin. A moment later the two separated and Amy went back to her car to wait for Sean. Next Sean came up to her. "I think you're making a big mistake." He went to hug her, but as she had done before she stepped back.

"I don't care what you think." She stated simply and turned her back on him.

"Fine." He said. It didn't take long for his footsteps to make their way to Amy's car. In seconds they were gone down the road and she was alone on the sidewalk.

TBC

End Note: I went back and forth on Liz telling Amy about Maria and where she really is but I decided pretty much as I was writing this part up that I wouldn't. It will definitely cause an issue between Amy and Liz later on though.

**Chapter 12 E**

_1:20 p.m._

Staring at the Crashdown Liz contemplated what she was about to do. This would be the last time, for awhile, that she entered this building. It was odd. Selling the Crashdown and leaving Roswell was what she wanted, what she needed, but odd none the less.

A sliver of guilt, for how she treated Sean, poked at her. He was only trying to help. Trying to stop her from an action she might regret later. He didn't understand, she didn't want him to. To understand people close to him would have to die and she wouldn't wish that on anyone.

Before braving the memories again, both good and bad, of her family's restaurant and home she went back into the parking lot, where her mother's car was. She went through the vehicle and took a few things from it. She took some paperwork that she'd mail to Amy and her mother's simple, silver cross necklace that she hung from the rearview mirror. Mom wasn't a very religious woman but she put the cross on the mirror for, what she said, a 'just in case' measure.

Liz stepped out of the car, locked it and made her way up front again. She eased her key into the lock of the double doors. She wouldn't have another opportunity, for a while, to go through the restaurant.

The familiar bell above the door chimed, once when she opened the door and again when it closed behind her. She took in the tables, almost surprised by how clean they still were. Logically she knew it only been a few days since her parent's murder but at the same time it felt like a lifetime ago. To the point that she felt like there should be cobwebs and dust everywhere.

Slowly she made her way down the aisle of the restaurant. She could almost hear the angry ding from the kitchen bell as Michael told them their order was up. Or the firm but cheerful reminder from Jose that these plates weren't going to serve themselves.

As she made her way further into the establishment she picked up the chairs that the police and investigators had taken down to sit on. With as little noise as possible she put them back where they belonged when the restaurant was closed, back on the tables.

She stopped at the swinging door leading to the back. Breathing in and exhaling carefully she braced herself for the flashes that would come when she passed through the door.

As she expected she saw flashes of how she found her parents. Flashes of the thing that took them from her. Like one of those clip shows that show the highlights of a movie, only these clips were gruesome and horrific.

She made her way up the stairs and through the front door of the apartment. The air was still cool. She had forgotten to turn off the air conditioner when she was here last.

Liz walked over to the temperature control unit and turned the AC off. The soft hum in the background growled and fell silent. The sudden quiet gave her an eerie chill. She wrapped her arms around her middle trying to calm the strange feeling.

Breathing in deeply she shook off her feeling of loneliness and pushed her thoughts forward to the task at hand. Opening the front hall closet she set out to get the last bit of things she was going to bring with her on the road.

She pulled out her father's duffle bag, the aroma of dirt and campfire smoke hit her nostrils. This was the bag her father took camping with him last year at Frasier woods. Liz smiled at the memory.

In that bag she put various knick-knacks consisting of books, cd's, and her mother's laptop. Along with the non-essentials she added some incase supplies, matches, a couple bottles of water, and some food that would survive over a long period of time. She also put her father's old army jacket on top of everything before zipping the bag closed.

For the next twenty minutes she went through the house gathering various things, putting them in boxes, backpacks, or duffle bags and then put them into the bed of her father's truck. When she had finished going through all the other rooms in her home, taking what she wanted or needed on the road she was left with one last room to go through, her own.

Ros-SPN-Ros-SPN-Ros-SPN

Outside on the balcony Gordon heard the girl move around the place. So far she hadn't come back into her room. He had heard her come up and down the stairs a few times. Even overheard her speaking to herself.

He was surprised when he heard, "Stop freaking out Liz. There's no one here but you." She had finally come into her room. A mere few feet from where he was crouched near her window.

So the girl could tell that there was a presence, his presence specifically, inside her home but she brushed it off. He knew he hadn't left any clues that he was there, so was she supernatural in origin or just freaked out by the silence and emptiness that was now her home?

He held the journal he found close to his chest. He only had a chance to read some of it but what he read left him with two impressions. One, that this girl annoyingly over thought everything. Yes, she wrote down what happened during the day but then she came up with eighty different reasons for something this Max guy did. Honestly he skimmed over a lot of that. And two, she was something supernatural and he was going to find out exactly what she was.

Ros-SPN-Ros-SPN-Ros-SPN

Liz heaved the luggage she just packed off the bed. She had packed her clothes, jeans, t-shirts, some sweaters, underwear, socks, and an extra pair of shoes. She put her toiletries into a plastic bag, some more of her jewelry in another plastic bag and tossed them in the luggage as well.

Next she had gone through her dresser drawers, grabbing photo albums and little knick-knacks that reminded her of Mom, Dad and her other family members, along with Alex and Maria. As she pushed some old homework away she spotted the picture of her and Max taken from a photo booth. Instead of putting it in the pile of other pictures in her luggage, she left it on top of the dresser.

This was the second to last bag she'd bring with her. Everything else, besides what she would put into the last bag, would be put into storage. While still in her room she brought out her duffle bag, the one she used when she went camping last year.

She packed the last bits of what she'd need or want with her. The items included, Grandma's quilt, the rest of the paperwork that she'd need to mail to Amy later, the rest of her CD's, the money she had in a tin box in the back of her dresser drawer, and few more pieces of clothing. All that she needed now was her journal; she didn't want to leave that hanging around.

Breathing in deeply Liz took the luggage, minus the duffle bag, downstairs and put it in the backseat. She then took the blue tarp Dad kept in the bed of his vehicle and secured it over the belongings. She wasn't taking much really, only half of the truck bed had the things from inside the house and there were other things in the truck bed as well, chains, tools, and a spare tire. Although it would give her more room, if she took those out Dad would haunt her for being stupid. Never knew when she'd need those things or where the next gas station or mechanics shop would be.

Securing everything she made her way up the stairs one last time. The only thing left was her journal and the duffle bag on her bed. She opened the front door, the air had heated up a bit since she turned off the air conditioning but it still had a bit of coolness left.

She made her way to her bedroom and she finally noticed something that she should have when she first walked in ten minutes ago. Her window was open. With the AC going it would have been closed. Slowly she tiptoed to the window. With cautious glances and a quick moment to gather her courage she poked her head of the window.

No one was out there. Liz snorted rudely. "I'm losing my mind." She started to climb out of her bedroom when the door behind her slammed shut.

"Maybe you are. But in this case, you're not."

Liz whirled around, "Who the hell are you?" She recognized him as the Pastor from the memorial service but what person of God would be skulking around in a seventeen year old girl's room? She knew he wasn't there to save her soul or spread the word of God; he was there for something sinister, what she saw when she shook his hand before proved that he wasn't on the up and up long before he stepped foot into her home.

He smiled coolly at her. "I think a better question might be who…or what the hell are you?"

"You're in my house I'm pretty sure mine is the better question." She gripped the edge of her window sill.

"Let's not play with each other Miss Parker. We both know you're not normal." He pulled out a gun with his right hand and pointed it at her. "Please sit." He pointed, with his non-gun hand, to her desk chair.

If he didn't have her at gun point she might have resisted his instructions but the gun changed things. She obeyed his order, not taking her eyes off him and slowly sank into the chair.

"Now, do you want to explain this?" The man pulled out her journal from behind him.

Liz's eyes widened in shock. He found her journal. How much of it did he read?

"Ah, I can see from your expression that you're wondering how far I got in this." He shook the book. "I skimmed most of it. The beginning wasn't very interesting. Max did this, Max did that, I felt this when I looked into his eyes. Some mentions of other people and how what they did or didn't do affected you. All very dramatic, none of it relevant or particularly entertaining."

She watched in disgust as he fingered through her most personal possession as if it were nothing but trash. It made her sick. She had put everything she ever thought and felt in those pages, how dare he belittle that.

"But then we get to October. At first, same old, ho hum drivel about flying through space and feeling "connections"." He didn't use air quotes because both of his hands were occupied, but he would have clearly used them if he could. "However suddenly it becomes clear that you're not just being overly dramatic."

Liz swallowed hard. She knew exactly what entry he was referring too. The one where she couldn't find any words to describe Future Max except to spell it out in plain English, the entry that she stopped hiding what really was going on in Roswell.

"I'm sure you know what you wrote. About your boyfriend coming from the future. At first I thought you were insane but then a lot of people would say that of me as well if they knew what I knew."

Although it might get her killed she couldn't resist telling him. "I have no idea what you know and I already think you're insane."

He doesn't say a word, just smiled slowly, cruelly. The man in front of her didn't seem at all bothered by her opinion of him.

"I don't want to hurt you Miss Parker. I certainly don't like to hurt innocent young girls. But I've got a feeling that you're not entirely what you portray." He tossed her journal haphazardly across her bed and near her duffle bag. "You've written about a lot of interesting things. Boyfriends from the future, strange visions, I think once you even mentioned some actual electrical current flowing through you."

As he talked about the things she wrote she suddenly heard, [i]Little freak[/i]. She could hear his thoughts, like at the restaurant when she heard some of the other diners and what they were thinking. Her eyes darted around the room, rush after rush of images came from the man's mind. Hatred of everything non-human overwhelmed her and caused physical pain in her head.

A new voice, one distant and faint like a whisper, pierced through the hatred sharply. [i]Gordon please, I'm still me. I'm still your sister.[/i]

She released a shaky breath and lifted her gaze to stare straight at the predator in her room. "Sounds like you've read a lot. What are you going to do?"

"I said I don't want to hurt you." [i]Doesn't mean I won't. Can't let monsters roam free.[/i]

Liz tightened her jaw and stared into his eyes. "Then shouldn't you kill yourself?"

He paused. "What are you talking about?"

"You don't want monsters roaming free. But you're one of the monsters." Liz revealed.

He took a step forward, his gun still pointed at her, and snarled out. "Can you read my mind?" [i]No, she couldn't, could she?[/i] "I am not a monster."

"I don't think your sister would agree, Gordon." Liz knew she was pushing and it might get her killed but she wasn't going to go down without a fight. She certainly wasn't going to let him get away with terrorizing her without getting some terrorizing of her own in.

In different circumstances she would be questioning what she saw and why she saw it then when she terrified. Liz knew at that moment that she had heard other people's thoughts earlier in the week, however she couldn't wonder why and do the whole introspective thing now, it would have to wait until she was out of this situation.

Gordon let his anger dictate his next set of movements. It was enough to give her the upper hand.

He stalked toward her and clamped his left hand around her neck. "Don't you talk about her!" He commanded.

When he touched her bare flesh she again saw the flashes of blood and rolling heads that she saw when she shook his hand at her parent's memorial. Liz saw glimpses of fangs, bloodied machete's, and saws.

Incredibly frightened she began to fight his hold. She pushed hard against his chest when a green, electrical spark shot out of her hands and sent Gordon flying across the room into the wall behind the door.

Breathing heavily she jumped off the chair, grabbed her journal and duffle bag and raced out the bedroom window. She didn't check to see if Gordon was alive, dead, unconscious or just dazed, she didn't care. With her bag over her shoulder and her journal between her teeth she hurried down the ladder as fast as possible.

She jumped from the last wrung, landing on her feet. Liz fell to her knees and squeaked out a painful cry. Her journal fell from her teeth at the impact; her ankle still was not strong enough to support her jump from the ladder. She pushed back up, grabbing her journal up again and ran as best she could to her father's truck.

Liz shoved her items inside, hopped in and sped out of the driveway. Away from crazy ass Gordon, away from the Crashdown, away from her home, and away from Roswell.

TBC

Next Chapter: Liz is on the road. Who will be the second Supernatural character she'll meet? What trouble will Liz get into while still on her downward spiral?


	14. Chapter 13

Note: I know nothing about whether dog hair and wolf hair are similar. For the sake of this story, they aren't.

**Chapter 13**

_August 2; Roswell_

"Well, the Crashdown has been sold." Detective Redding tossed a file onto his partner's desk.

"Unbelievable. The girl is a suspect in her parent's murder, leaves Roswell and then sells her parent's business." Tracy Malone shook her head.

Redding shrugged his shoulder. "To be fair we've mostly cleared her."

"Yes, but she didn't know that." She pointed out. "She left town nearly three weeks ago and we've only recently come up with new information. Miss Parker must have known how it would look and she didn't give a shit." She sighed. "Have you gotten anything on the identity of the figure that was lurking around outside that night?"

"Nothing except what we got two weeks ago. The guy who runs the store near the Crashdown doesn't remember anything except a shadowy figure that looked like it was having trouble walking straight and upright. But we couldn't find anything near that section of the building where he said the guy was. When he went out to check, the other guy was gone. That was about fifteen minutes before the Parker's time of death." Redding read over the information in the file.

"The lab is still trying to identify the hair found on Jeff Parker. It has characteristics of both dog and wolf hair but is neither. They've crossed checked it with all other dog like animals out there and they've come up with nothing." Malone stated. "I really don't want this to become another weird unsolved case."

It was common knowledge that there were those kinds of cases that had no explanation, the kinds of cases where there were clues but they lead nowhere. This was shaping up to being one of those.

As the two detectives continued to look over the file hoping to find anything that they might have missed the previous hundred times they searched through it, their Captain came up to their desks. "We got a homicide at 2231 Elk Lane, head down there; it looks like a similar MO to the Parker case."

"Right away, Captain." Both detectives stood up and left the precinct.

_August 4; Texas_

Something was wrong.

Something that should never happen had happened.

Liz raised her gaze from the crystal clear glass in front of her. "Hey." She called to the man behind the bar.

She saw, but didn't care, that he breathed out a sigh of irritation. "What's wrong with this picture?" She asked when he was in front of her. Although she was seeing two of him she focused on a spot somewhere in the middle of the two frustrated figures.

"I can think of a lot of things but what do you think is wrong?" He glared down at her slumped over body with distain.

Liz raised the glass and shook it in front of him. "Empty. Duh. Fill it up." She slammed the shot glass back on the counter.

The bartender refilled her shot glass and left her alone with her eighth shot of the night. It was clear at this point that she didn't have the same issue with alcohol as Max, and she assumed the other aliens, had. One sip didn't get her loopy; however eight shots did the job nicely.

Swishing the liquid around the glass she thought back on the last three weeks out on the road. After her run in with Gordon she hadn't stopped driving for five hours, until she was well out of Roswell and almost out of New Mexico, and the only reason she stopped then was to get gas and grab a few hundred dollars from her bank account.

Now she didn't take any of the money from her Elizabeth Parker bank account or even her parent's accounts. She took it from her Erica Winterbourne account. After finding out about the aliens two years ago she had made the decision to start covering her, and essentially the other's, asses. The possibility of having to run at sometime in the future was a high one. And nobody, not even Maria or Alex, knew that she had saved money for just such an occasion.

So at first she started putting aside various amounts of money from each pay check and she'd put it in the tin at the back of her desk. By the time their Vegas trip came she had a little over two thousand dollars in that tin. After Vegas and after her fake ID name change, she put most of the money she had originally put in the tin into an account in Erica Winterbourne's name. Then after Alex died and she emptied her savings account to by a ticket to Sweden and when she didn't go she put that money into the Winterbourne account as well. By the time she ran out of Roswell after her run in with Gordon she had a nice chunk of change in that account.

These last three weeks on the road she'd been a constant bundle of paranoia. Gordon, in her brief and scary time with him, didn't seem like the kind of guy to let a "freak" like her go. Although she had gotten away, that time, she didn't think she'd get away for long.

So with that in mind she began, in her sober moments, to practice her alien powers. She'd gone through the freak out of having abilities, stopped on the side of the road a couple days into her journey because the green electrical charges under her skin got too visible for her to continue driving at night, the inside of her truck had started to look like—well, like an alien was in there. A soft green glow pulsated around her, its brightness growing quickly.

She had laid down flat on the front seats of the truck and screamed out her anguish. As she let out her anger at being alone, being afraid, being changed, and being so incredibly tired the glow emanating from her body began to fade. With the fear of being discovered as different receding she had rolled over and cried her heart out only to fall asleep where she lay.

After she woke up and started on her way again she worked on some of her alien powers. She tried to keep the mental powers she had exhibited, the flashes when touching someone, hearing people's thoughts, things like that to a minimum though. Drinking kept all that from happening too often. However what she did practice on was manipulating structures.

So far all she managed to do was melt everything she tried to change but she vowed to get the hang of it so she could change her license plate whenever she needed too. The suspicious parts of her mind wouldn't allow her to believe that Gordon didn't have someone looking for her plates or anything connected to the name Elizabeth, Jeff, or Nancy Parker.

Along with learning her powers, she drank. A lot. At least five times a week she stopped into a bar ordered a few drinks, enough to not get flashes when she touched an object or person, and then stumbled her way back to either her truck or to a near by hotel room where she fell flat on a bed to sleep off her drunken stupor. The cycle was never ending. Drive a few hundred miles, stop at a bar, drink at the bar, make a fool out of herself, and then collapse somewhere, only to do the whole thing over again the next day.

Her lips curled down into a frown. Mom and Dad would be so disappointed in her. She wasn't standing up strong; she wasn't facing her problems like a Parker should. No, she wallowed, drank, and basically made a mockery of the Parker name.

Sniffing back tears she straightened on the bar stool. She raised the half empty glass in her hand and said to her reflection in the mirror behind the bar. "To the Parker's."

Liz lifted the glass and drank the rest down quickly. As she leaned back to get the last drop she lost her balance and fell back onto the hard wood floor beneath her. "Stupid chair." She said to no one, the man behind the bar rolled his eyes and simply looked at her until she got up off the floor, crawling back onto the stool.

"Why don't you go home?" He curtly asked her.

She snorted. "How mush for the," nausea bubbled up from her stomach but, thankfully she didn't lose the alcohol she consumed. "How mush for the shmots?" The words coming from her mouth were slurred but he seemed to understand what she said.

"Eight shots and two beers, sixty-eight bucks." He tossed a bar rag over his shoulder and waited for her to fork over the money.

Slowly she counted out sixty-eight dollars. "Here. No tip for yous." She weaved her way out of the bar. "Didn't keep my glash full." She chuckled and left, leaving a bunch of annoyed and thankful patrons behind. She had finally left and she hadn't thrown up anywhere in the bar. Outside however was a different story. She couldn't keep the booze down any longer and threw up between two parked cars.

Someone wasn't going to like her later. With slow, wobbly steps she finally made it back to her motel room. Another night down. She couldn't wait to do the same thing tomorrow.

TBC


End file.
